Ukrainian strikes disrupt power and heating to 2 major cities in Russia

KYIV Ukraine AP Ukrainian strikes disrupted power and heating to two major Russian cities near the Ukrainian margin local Russian officers disclosed Sunday The description comes as Russia and Ukraine have traded almost daily assaults on each other s vigor infrastructure and U S -led diplomatic efforts to stop the nearly four-year war have not advanced Elsewhere Ukraine s top diplomat accused Moscow of deliberately endangering nuclear safety as he explained Russia s mass drone and missile attack on Friday struck substations that power two nuclear power plants And in Russia the Kremlin spokesman explained Moscow intended to honor its obligations under a global nuclear test ban despite a latest order by President Vladimir Putin to assessment the possibility of resuming atomic tests Power knocked out in two Russian cities A drone strike temporarily caused blackouts and cut heating to parts of Voronezh regional Gov Alexander Gusev declared He declared several drones were electronically jammed during the night over the city home to just over million people sparking a fire at a local utility facility that was hastily extinguished Russian and Ukrainian news channels on Telegram claimed the strike targeted a local thermal power plant A missile strike late on Saturday also caused serious damage to power and heating systems supplying the city of Belgorod with particular households affected local Gov Vyacheslav Gladkov informed the following morning Russia s defense ministry revealed Sunday that its forces destroyed or intercepted Ukrainian drones during the night that flew over the Bryansk and Rostov regions in southwestern Russia The comment made no mention of either the Voronezh or Belgorod provinces nor did it specify how numerous drones Ukraine launched Local officials in the Rostov region on Sunday published on hourslong blackouts in the city of Taganrog home to particular people blaming them on an crisis shutdown of a power line They did not specify the cause though local media claimed a nearby transformer substation caught fire Months of Ukrainian long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries have aimed to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it demands to pursue the war Meanwhile Kyiv and its western allies say Russia is trying to cripple the Ukrainian power grid and deny civilians access to heat light and running water for a fourth consecutive winter in what Ukrainian representatives call weaponizing the biting cold Strikes endanger power supply to nuclear plants Russia s mass drone and missile strikes Friday hit power substations that supply two of Ukraine s nuclear power plants according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha Russia once again targeted substations that power the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne nuclear power plants Sybiha mentioned in a report on X late Saturday These were not accidental but well-planned strikes Russia is deliberately endangering nuclear safety in Europe Sybiha called for an urgent meeting of the International Atomic Potential Agency board of governors to respond to the risks posed by the attacks Moscow s massive attacks on Ukraine s electricity infrastructure last winter have heightened scrutiny over the Ukrainian Ability Ministry s apparent failure to protect the country s bulk critical potency facilities near nuclear power sites according to several current and former bureaucrats who spoke to the AP Meanwhile Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated Saturday that work has begun on President Vladimir Putin s order to prepare plans for a attainable Russian nuclear test according to state news agency Tass Putin s order on Wednesday followed statements by Trump which appeared to suggest that Washington would restart its own atomic tests for the first time in three decades Kremlin says Russia will abide by nuclear ban Russia will abide by its obligations under a global nuclear ban the Kremlin spokesman disclosed Sunday following days of uncertainty over remarks by U S President Donald Trump that appeared to suggest Washington might restart atomic tests after more than three decades Trump s comments came after Russia broadcasted it had tested a new atomic-powered and nuclear-capable underwater drone and a new nuclear-powered cruise missile But Moscow did not announce any tests of its nuclear weapons which last occurred in Putin has repeatedly stated that Russia is committed to its obligation to end nuclear tests and that we have no intention of conducting them Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov recounted reporters Earlier this week Putin ordered executives to examination the possibility of resuming nuclear testing though Russia explained it would not do so unless the U S did so first Russia s Lavrov says he s ready to meet Rubio Elsewhere Russia s top diplomat stated Sunday that he was ready to meet U S Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss the war in Ukraine and mending bilateral ties Secretary of State Marco Rubio and I understand the need for regular communication Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov narrated Russia s Ria state agency weeks after efforts to organise a summit between the Russian and U S leaders were put on ice Lavrov on Sunday repeated that peace can t be achieved without taking Russian interests into account a phrase Moscow has used to signal it is standing firm in its maximalist demands for Ukraine