A midnight Russian drone attack left the western Ukrainian city of Ternopol without power, the regional military administration said, a week after strikes by Moscow cut power to much of the city and the district, reported Reuters.
"Emergency teams and rescuers are liquidating the consequences of the attack. Stock up on water and charge your phones," wrote the Telegram app. Sergii Nadal, head of the regional defense staff in Ternopil.
For now, there is no clarity about the overall scale of the attack on Ternopil, a large city in western Ukraine. The air alert in the Ternopil region, whose regional center is the city of the same name, lasted about 2.5 hours and began at 11:30 p.m. by Greenwich last night.
One person was killed and several injured in a Russian drone attack on Ternopil earlier yesterday.
A week ago, a large part of the city was left without electricity after the largest Russian drone attack against Ukraine.
Ternopol, about 220 km east of NATO Poland, and the district had a population of more than 1 million before Russia's February 2022 invasion, which drove many Ukrainians to the West.
U.S. and Ukrainian Defense Ministers Lloyd Austin and Rustem Umerov discussed by phone the use of new missiles by Russia and aid in the new year to Kiev.
"Minister Austin condemned the latest Russian missile and drone strikes against Ukraine's civilian infrastructure and the use of an intermediate-range ballistic missile against Ukraine, further escalating tensions in Russia's war against Kiev,'' the press secretary said. of the Pentagon Gen.-Maj. Pat Ryder.
In late November, Moscow launched a medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in response to the US and UK's permission for Ukraine to shell Russian territory with modern Western weaponry.
Umerov said that the conversation with Austin also focused on "strategic planning for 2025, in particular the supply of weapons and equipment to the Ukrainian units.
Given the upcoming January 20 inauguration of Donald Trump as president, Kiev fears that support from Washington - Ukraine's biggest benefactor in its battle with Russia - will drop significantly.
Umerov added that he and his colleague also discussed the upcoming meeting in the format of "Ramstein", an association of EU and NATO members to help Kiev.
He did not specify when it will be organized.
According to Ukrainian media such as the online publication "European Justice" the meeting may take place this month.
It will probably be the last in this format before Trump takes office.
The conversation between Austin and Umerov also took place against the background of the news announced by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that the US is providing new military aid to Ukraine in the amount of $725 million.