Russian strikes have damaged vital infrastructure in northern and central Ukraine, leaving parts of two Ukrainian regions without electricity, Reuters reported, citing a statement from the national energy company Ukrenergo, BTA reported.
The company said it was forced to introduce emergency power cuts in parts of Sumy and Poltava regions after the overnight Russian attacks. Kiev said air defenses had destroyed 66 of the 100 drones launched by Russia, and another 24 were "lost", but several of them had reached vital civilian infrastructure, Reuters reported.
At the same time, the Russian Defense Ministry reported in its daily report that its forces had captured another village in eastern Ukraine, southeast of the city of Pokrovsk - a key logistics center for the Ukrainian army, to which Russian forces are approaching, notes Agence France-Presse.
"Units of the "Center" army group (...) have liberated the Tsukuryne area" in the Donetsk region, the ministry said.
Russian forces are gaining ground in the east of the country, despite heavy losses, AFP recalls. They are now heading for Pokrovsk, which had a pre-conflict population of 60,000 and is a key logistics hub for the Ukrainian army. It is also home to the only Ukrainian-controlled coke mine - coal needed to make steel.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared it his "priority" to seize all of Donbas, Ukraine's mining and industrial heartland.