Ukrainian drones kill three in Belgorod as grid strikes cut power in Kyiv and Crimea

Three people died in Russia's Belgorod region after Ukrainian drone strikes hit the area on Wednesday, local authorities confirmed. The region shares a direct border with Ukraine and has been a frequent target of cross-border attacks. The deaths add to a growing toll in the border zone as hostilities continue along the frontline.

Simultaneously, Russian forces conducted overnight strikes that damaged power generation facilities and substations in nine regions of Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that the attacks left emergency outages in many cities. The Russian Defence Ministry stated on Telegram that its forces targeted two power stations located in the Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions.

The damage to critical infrastructure caused hours-long interruptions to electricity and water supplies across Kyiv and surrounding areas. City officials urged residents to use public drinking water fountains. Emergency centers were opened in the hardest-hit districts to provide hot tea and charging points for electronic devices.

Beyond the capital, strikes affected the regions of Poltava, Dnipro, Kirovohrad, and Rivne, according to Ukraine's emergency service and local officials. The timing of the attacks coincides with falling temperatures as winter approaches. Kyiv has frequently accused Moscow of deliberately targeting the energy grid to strain civilian resources.

Power outages also reached Crimea, a peninsula with a population of approximately 2.5 million that Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014. Russia's Ministry of Energy announced that Ukrainian strikes hit energy infrastructure overnight. Authorities implemented temporary outage schedules, although officials did not specify the number of affected households. A Moscow-installed official told Reuters that an accident outside the region also contributed to the power cuts.

In southern Russia, a Ukrainian drone attack started a fire at a major warehouse belonging to Ozon, an online retailer. Regional head Murat Kumpilov said the strikes targeted an Ozon distribution facility in the town of Adygeysk in the Republic of Adygea. Ozon confirmed that all workers were evacuated and that no one was injured. The company removed damaged goods from its online listings and rerouted deliveries to other locations.

Russia's Defence Ministry reported that its air defenses downed 709 Ukrainian drones across 14 regions, Crimea, and the Black and Azov seas. The ministry released the figures as part of its daily update on the ongoing air campaign.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on the political situation in the United States following recent congressional midterms. He said Moscow hopes that US President Donald Trump will continue his peace efforts despite the shift in legislative control. Peskov stated that President Trump continues to exercise his powers and that the Kremlin sincerely hopes he will maintain his peacemaking initiatives.

When asked if a change in Congress could hinder those efforts, Peskov described the situation as an internal matter for America. Democratic control of the legislature, expected to begin when the new Congress convenes in January, is anticipated to bring a more vocal pro-Kyiv majority. However, there is little expectation that the United States will return as a major financial backer of Ukraine.

In a separate move, President Zelenskyy awarded US First Lady Melania Trump the Order of Princess Olga. The decree, issued on Wednesday, cited her personal contribution to humanitarian aid and support for children in Ukraine. Ukrainian officials noted that she helped organize a six-day local ceasefire to evacuate civilians from the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, which ended on Sunday.