December 16, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

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CIA Director Bill Burns testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee on March 10, in Washington, DC.

CIA director Bill Burns said Friday he believes Russia’s attacks against Ukraine’s infrastructure will continue, although the agency does anticipate a “reduced tempo” of fighting through the winter.

For now, the?CIA?does not see an immediate path to negotiations to end the conflict, he said.

Putin’s punishing attacks: Since October, Russia has launched a series of strikes that have damaged the energy system and civilian infrastructure, causing power outages in the freezing winter. On Friday, missile attacks were reported across Ukraine, including in Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia.

Civilians take shelter inside a metro station in Kyiv as a fresh barrage of Russian strikes hit cities across Ukraine early on Friday cutting water and electricity in major cities and piling pressure on Ukraine's grid.

Officials in Ukraine’s capital are working to get the power back to the majority of residents after the city was hit with a series of Russian missile strikes Friday, according to Mayor Vitalii Klitschko.

Only one-third of people have water and heat, and about 40% of people have power, he said in a post on Telegram. The outages are due to damaged power grids, Klitschko said.

Transportation issues: The city’s subway system has been closed and emergency power cuts are in force in the region.

“Tomorrow, additional buses will be launched in the capital to duplicate tram routes. In addition, the city will organize the movement of buses that will partially duplicate subway routes,” Klitschko said.

Oleksiy Kuleba, head of the Kyiv region military administration, said one person was seriously injured in the strikes.

Rescuers continue to search for an infant boy buried in the rubble of an apartment block in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, which was struck by a Russian missile Friday, killing three people and wounding over a dozen others, according to officials.?

Among the dead were the 20-month-old boy’s parents, Kryvyi Rih’s deputy mayor Serhiy Miliutin told CNN. Their relatives have been informed of their passing, he added.

An unnamed 64-year-old woman was also killed, Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the Kryvyi Rih city military administration, wrote on Telegram. He also added that the couple were in their 30’s.

Thirteen people, including four children, were injured, Vilkul added, with a seven-year-old child among three people wounded who are in a “severe condition.”

He continued that more than 100 people lived in the apartment block.

The city in southern Ukraine was among the hardest hit in the latest wave of Russian missile attacks, officials said.

“All their targets today are civilians, and these are mainly energy and heat supply facilities,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday in his nightly address.

The US Army test fires a Patriot missile in 2019. The Patriot missile defense systems are designed to counter and destroy incoming short-range ballistic missiles, advanced aircraft and cruise missiles.

The US State Department, responding to comments by the Russian government that a possible US shipment of Patriot missile systems to Ukraine would?“lead to unpredictable consequences” and threaten?global security, reiterated that Russia is singlehandedly responsible for provocations in Ukraine.

“The only provocative measures that have been taken over the course of this entire conflict are being made by Russia,” State Department Deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said at a press briefing Friday.?

“The US is not now nor has it ever been at war with Russia,” Patel said.

CNN reported this week that President Joe?Biden’s administration?is finalizing plans to send the?Patriot missile defense system?to?Ukraine, according to two US officials and a senior administration official.

Though Patel did not announce any new US security assistance to Ukraine, he said that the US has been doing “exactly what President Biden told President [Vladimir] Putin we’d do … that if Russia attacked Ukraine, we would provide security assistance and help Ukraine defend itself and defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty.”

Cars lined up on a street?during a blackout after critical civil infrastructure was hit by Russian missile attacks in?Kyiv on December 16.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal issued a dire warning at a government meeting Friday after a fresh round of Russian strikes battered the nation’s infrastructure.

The prime minister claimed that air defenses shot down 60 of the 76 missiles from the barrage. “We thank the defenders of the Ukrainian sky for this,” Shmyhal said.

But some of the missiles that did find their intended targets hit?high-voltage substations and electricity generators, the prime minister said.

“Once again there is a serious shortage in the power system,” Shmyhal told attendees at the meeting. “And now emergency blackouts are applied almost throughout the country.”

Local leaders report on current energy supply: Oleh Syniehubov, a leader in the northeastern Kharkiv region, said on Telegram that engineers have started to restore electricity to Kharkiv city and more than half a dozen surrounding towns, including Izium.

Andrii Raykovych, who is head of the Kirovohrad region’s military administration in central Ukraine, said power had been restored to more than 30% of local consumers.

“First of all, critical infrastructure facilities, medical institutions are being supplied with electricity. Then — the houses,” he explained.

State power company Ukrenergo is yet to release national data on power outages Friday.

In an Instagram post announcing her departure from a medical military facility in Texas on Friday, WNBA star Brittney Griner said she plans to play basketball for the Phoenix Mercury this season after being held in Russian detention since February.

Griner played for a Russian basketball team during the WNBA offseason, and she was arrested on drug smuggling charges shortly prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 17 before being released on Dec. 9 in a prisoner exchange for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Griner took off from Kelly Field in San Antonio Friday around 11 a.m., CNN confirmed via her agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas.?

As she boarded the plane, Griner was greeted by Phoenix Mercury General Manager Jim Pitman,?Phoenix Mercury President Vince Kozar and her Mercury teammate?Diana Taurasi, all of whom made a surprise appearance to welcome her home.

Griner is heading back to Arizona, though her representatives would not confirm exactly where, citing security concerns. CNN previously reported that Griner and her wife Cherelle had already made plans to move upon her return to the United States.

CNN is reaching out to the Phoenix Mercury about Griner’s intention to play on the team this season, but has not heard back yet.

While much of Ukraine has been targeted by Russian missiles Friday, the southern city of Kherson has suffered further artillery and rocket attacks.

The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office said that shelling early Friday morning set on fire several apartments in a multi-story building. The body of a man was found in one of the apartments.

Local Telegram channels said there had also been Russian shellings Friday afternoon in Kherson and further north near Kakhovka

Friday’s shelling comes at the end of a week of persistent Russian attacks on the city and surrounding areas, which were liberated in November.

Yaroslav Yanushevych, head of Kherson region military administration said the Kherson region was shelled 30 times Thursday.

He said a total of four people were killed.

The struggle to restore basic services in Kherson continues. Ukrainian officials say almost all the water supply has been reconnected and about three-quarters of boilers for heating.

Additionally, two more Starlink Wi-Fi access points have been installed.

Food aid continues to be delivered —?the regional council says there are now 23 distribution points for free food packages.

Brittney Griner?hugs her wife Cherelle?after arriving at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in San Antonio, Texas, on December 9.

Brittney Griner departed a medical military facility in Texas on Friday, according to her Instagram feed, after arriving there one week ago following 10 months in Russian custody.

For the two-time Olympic gold medalist, who was released last week in a prisoner swap after nearly 300 days in Russian custody, the day marks another step in her reintegration into American life.

In an Instagram post, she thanked her family, the WNBA, advocates and US President Joe Biden, among others.

“I also want to make one thing very clear: I intend to play basketball for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury this season, and in doing so, I look forward to being able to say ‘thank you’ to those of you who advocated, wrote, and posted for me in person soon,” she added.

Some background: Griner’s detention, after Russian officials found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage, became an international cause during a delicate time in relations between Washington and Moscow. US officials deemed it a wrongful detention.

She had traveled to Russia to play basketball in the WNBA offseason and was arrested on drug smuggling charges at an airport in the Moscow region.

Despite her testimony that she had inadvertently packed the cannabis oil in her luggage, Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison in early August and was moved to a penal colony in the Mordovia republic in mid-November after losing her appeal.

The Phoenix Mercury center became a pawn in Russia’s war in Ukraine and returned to the US on Dec. 9 after a prisoner swap for notorious convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Griner had been staying at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio for routine evaluation.?She has been staying with her wife, Cherelle Griner, in a residential facility on the base.

Her arrest and conviction brought attention to the plight of other Americans in Russian custody, including Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed. Whelan’s release could not be secured in the latest prisoner swap, while Reed returned to the US in April after a nearly three-year ordeal.

People shelter inside a metro station during a partial power outage amid massive Russian missile attacks in?Kyiv, on December 16.

In an escalated assault on Friday, Russia launched?at least 76 missiles at different parts of Ukraine, including Kyiv, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. If you’re just joining us, catch up on Friday’s developments in Moscow’s war on Ukraine here.

Where: After an official from the Ukrainian Presidential Office urged people to stay in shelters as air raid sirens sounded across the country on Friday, missile attacks were reported across Ukraine on Friday, including in Kyiv, Odesa, Poltava, Zhytomyr, Kharkiv and Sumy.

Details on attack: Preliminary data from Friday’s wave of Russian missile attacks against Ukraine suggests at 76 missiles were fired, according to Valeriy Zaluzhny, commander in chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Of the 76 missiles, 72 were “cruise missiles” of the Kh-101, “Kalibr” and Kh-22 variety. The other four were “guided aircraft missiles,” Kh-59 and KH31P.?

Targets: Russia has waged a series strikes against Ukraine since October that have damaged the energy system and civilian infrastructure, causing power outages in the freezing winter. Friday’s strikes were in the same vein. In northeastern?Kharkiv, Oleh Syniehubv, head of the regional military administration, said the region had been hit “10 times” with “Russian S300” missiles and “critical infrastructure facilities” were hit in Chuhuiv district. CNN cannot independently verify the number of times Kharkiv was hit.

Defense: The country’s defenses shot down 60 of the 76 missiles from the barrage, Ukraine’s prime minister claimed at a meeting Friday. That included 37 of the 40 missiles launched at?Kyiv, according to the Ukrainian capital’s city administration. Leaders said the city had “withstood one of the largest missile attacks since the beginning of the full-scale invasion!”

Impact: All districts of Kyiv are experiencing water supply disruptions. Railway sections in parts of the country were impacted. Additionally, nine power generation facilities have been damaged, Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko has said, without specifying locations.

Energy facilities in the east and south of Ukraine have been damaged, Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said on Telegram, and added that there will be emergency power outages in some parts of the country.

“Kharkiv city is without power,” Mayor Ihor Terekhov said, but added that some centers were open where residents could warm up and recharge their phones. The strikes knocked out power on a number of railway sections, including northeastern Kharkiv and central Kirovohrad. Trains in the eastern region of Donetsk and central Dnipropetrovsk are also affected. Trains will continue to run under backup diesel locomotives, officials said.

Kryvyi Rih appears to be hit the hardest: At least two were killed and 8 were injured in Russian missile attacks in southern Ukrainian city, according to Oleksandr Vilkul, head of Kryvyi Rih city military administration. The energy infrastructure facility was completely destroyed, and one missile had hit an apartment building, he added. There are emergency power cuts in place and rescue work is underway for people under rubble in the apartment building as well as the region’s mines.

National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby speaks at the White House, on November 28.

The Biden administration on Friday condemned the new barrage of strikes from Russia into Ukraine, with National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby saying the attacks hit “largely civilian infrastructure.”

Energy Minister of Ukraine Herman Halushchenko said that “nine power-generating facilities” were damaged in Friday’s attacks, but did not specify which locations.

He declined to announce any details on the next security assistance package for Ukraine, but said that there “will be another one” and that additional air defense capabilities should be expected. Conversations with Ukraine on needs continue “in lockstep.”?

Kirby also announced that the first tranche of $53 million in energy-related equipment “has arrived in Ukraine coming from the United States.”

“It includes the kinds of equipment that they need to make emergency repairs,” he said, adding that “there will be more coming” to fulfill the US’ $53 million pledge.

Civilians sit on an escalator while take shelter inside a metro station during an air raid alert in the centre of Kyiv on December 16.

In the aftermath of a barrage of Russian missiles targeting Kyiv on Friday, the city’s subway system has been closed for the rest of the day and emergency power cuts are in force in the region.

Oleksiy Kuleba, head of Kyiv region military administration, said in a Telegram post that “due to the massive attack, a critical infrastructure facility and 9 private houses in different districts of the region were damaged.”

He said one person had been seriously injured.?

“Emergency power cuts are in effect in the region. Hospitals and critical infrastructure are operating on generators,” he said.

In the Kyiv region, over 400 “Invincibility Points” — which provide electricity, heat, internet, tea and coffee and first aid kits — are operating around the clock.

The Kyiv city administration announced on its Telegram channel that “due to damage to the power system and emergency power outages, subway trains will not be running today until the end of the day.”

“At the same time, underground stations will operate in the shelter mode,” it added.

Preliminary data from Friday’s wave of Russian missile attacks against Ukraine suggests at 76 missiles were fired, according to Valeriy Zaluzhny, commander in chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Of the 76 missiles, 72 were “cruise missiles” of the Kh-101, “Kalibr” and Kh-22 variety. The other four were “guided aircraft missiles,” Kh-59 and KH31P.?

The origin of the missiles were from the Caspian and Black Seas.?

Ukraine’s top military chief added that 60 missiles were destroyed.

ainian officials say that the southern city of Kryvyi Rih was among the hardest hit in the latest wave of Russian missile attacks.

Oleksandr Vilkul, head of Kryvyi Rih city military administration, spoke to Ukrainian television and provided the following updates:

“The water is supplied in the city partly through generators. The gas supply system is completely supported by generators,” as were area hospitals, he said. “Half of the mobile communication base stations are already connected. The second half is running on generators.”

An Ilyushin-76 A50U and MiG-31K aircrafts were seen in the “sky of Belarus” during the air attacks on Friday in Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have said.

The MiG-31K is capable for carrying a “Kinzal” missile. The missile is hypersonic and therefore difficult to intercept. However, the statement is unclear if the “Kinzal” was used in the attacks.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces suggested that the attacks in general were “peculiar” given that the missiles were not only fired from Caspian Sea, but “also from the Saratov region, in the Engels area, where strategic bombers-missile carriers Tu-95MS are based”.

The statement continued and claimed that missiles were also launched from the Black Sea from the “Admiral Marakov” frigate of the Russian navy.

Additionally, 27 S-300s were used, it said.

There was an explosion at the Engels airbase inside the Russian Federation last week. The attack was blamed on the Ukrainians by the Russians. Ukraine has never admitted to carrying out the attack.

Earlier this week, Belarus announced snap military drills across the country and President Vladimir Putin is due to meet with Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko next week.?

A Russian citizen closely linked to the Wagner group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin has been injured in an assassination attempt in the Central African Republic, according to Prigozhin and Russian officials.

Dmitry Syty, who runs the “Russian House” in the capital of CAR, Bangui, received a package which exploded in his hands, according to the press service of Concord, Prigozhin’s holding company.

Prigozhin said that Syty’s last words before falling unconscious and taken to hospital were:

Wagner’s presence in the CAR, where it has trained and fought with the local armed forces, has been controversial. CNN investigations have linked Wagner and associated entities with the lucrative diamond trade in central Africa as well as multiple human rights abuses in the country, where the army has been fighting a number of?rebel factions.?

A CNN team met with Syty in 2019, when he was involved in mediating between the CAR government and rebel groups. He was also the founder of a diamond company linked to Prigozhin’s business empire.

Prigozhin accused France of being behind the attack on Syty.?

“On February 1, 2022, the “Russian House” was opened in the Central African Republic, which for hundreds of years was oppressed by the French, who destroyed the population and plundered the wealth of the Central African Republic. It was headed by a patriot of Russia and the Central African Republic, Dmitry Syty,” he said.

“On November 11, Dmitry Syty received a package from Togo containing a photograph of his son, who lives in France. It contained a note saying that next time he would receive his son’s head if “the Russians do not get out of the African continent and open the doors for the French.”?

Prigozhin said: “Today he got another package. Despite all the instructions for observing security measures, Dmitry Syty, being in the heat of the moment and thinking that the head of his son was in the package, opened it. There was an explosion.”

CNN is unable to confirm Prigozhin’s allegations.

“I have already applied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation so that it initiates the procedure for declaring France a state sponsor of terrorism, as well as conducting a thorough investigation of the terrorist methods of France and its Western allies — the United States and others.”

A Russian group in CAR associated with the Russian House in Bangui said Syty’s “condition is serious and doctors are fighting for his life.”

The official Russian news agency TASS quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov as saying: “The assassination attempt on the head of the Russian house in the Central African Republic is an inhuman terrorist act that requires strong condemnation.”

He said: “Russia will make every effort to find the organizers of the assassination attempt on the head of the Russian House in the Central African Republic. The Russian Federation will not show fear of terrorists and will not close the Russian House in the Central African Republic.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it “strongly condemn[s] this criminal act, which is clearly aimed at hindering the activities of the Russia House in Bangui, and more broadly, harming the successful development of friendly relations between our two countries.”

“We hope that as a result of an operational investigation by the competent authorities of the Central African Republic, those responsible for organizing and committing this atrocity will be identified and punished,” the ministry added.

Uliana Pavlova contributed reporting to this post.

Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko has said that “9 power generation facilities” have been damaged in Friday’s attacks.

He did not specify which locations.?

The minister said the substations were damaged and as a result this has lead to a “restrictions of electricity production at nuclear generation facilities.”

The power situation in Kharkiv “will be difficult,” he continued. The northeastern city has lost power completely, Mayor Ihor Terekhov noted on Telegram earlier.?

Halushchenko noted in his message that “electricity supply is impossible for 50% of customers.”

It comes as Ukraine’s state energy provider Ukrenergo said it had activated its “emergency mode,” following the wave of Russian attacks on Friday.

Ukrenergo said the targets included “thermal power plants, hydroelectric power plants and substations of 330-750 kV main grids.”

President of FIFA Gianni Infantino, left, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

A request by Ukrainian President?Volodymyr Zelensky?to share a message of world peace prior to kickoff at the World Cup final on Sunday has been rebuffed by?FIFA, a source told CNN.

The source said Zelensky’s office is offering to appear in a video link to fans in the stadium in Qatar, ahead of the game and was surprised by the negative response. It’s unclear if Zelensky’s message would be live, or taped.

However, talks between Ukraine and the sport’s governing body are still underway, the source added.

CNN has reached out to FIFA for comment, but it did not immediately respond.

Related article Exclusive: FIFA rebuffs Zelensky's request to share message of peace at World Cup final | CNN

The Ukrainian capital’s city administration has claimed it shot down 37 of 40 missiles launched at Kyiv on Friday morning.?

Writing on Telegram it said “Kyiv city has withstood one of the largest missile attacks since the beginning of the full-scale invasion!”

The note ended by saying that only one person had been injured so far, in Dniprovskyi district, but information on casualties was being “clarified.”?

The regions reported in Kyiv as taking hits include?Holosiivskyi, Dniprovskyi and Desniansky.

CNN teams in Kyiv had earlier reported hearing the air defense systems working in the Ukrainian capital as they witnessed the missiles falling.

Missile attacks?have been reported?across Ukraine on Friday, including in Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia.

The mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, described the damage to the city’s infrastructure from Friday’s missile attacks as “colossal,” saying there was currently “no electricity, no heating and no water.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, meets with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenkoi n Moscow, Russia, on February 18.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to Minsk on Monday and meet with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, the Kremlin said Friday.

Putin and Lukashenko are planning to discuss “key issues of further development of Russian-Belarusian relations of strategic partnership and alliance with an emphasis on integration cooperation within the framework of the Union State, as well as current topics on the international and regional agenda,” according to the statement.

The two leaders will focus on strategic issues, especially in the economic sphere, Belarusian state news agency Belta reported earlier on Monday.

Russia used Belarus as a?staging ground?for its invasion of Ukraine in February, deploying troops and weaponry to its territory.

A CNN report published in October found that Belarus’ authoritarian government also provided medical aid to Russian military personnel, who were secretly ferried to several civilian hospitals in the southern Gomel region and treated by Belarusian doctors operating under harsh surveillance.

Civilians take shelter inside a metro station during air raid alert in the centre of Kyiv, Ukraine, on December 16.

Ukrainian Air Force Spokesman Yurii Inhat has said that as of 10:50am (3:50aET) “60 missiles” had been launched towards Ukraine.?

Inhat also gave a detailed description of the weaponry used in the attacks.?

He said missiles were launched from Tu-95 aircraft and the missiles were of the Kh-555 and Kh-101 variety.?

The spokesman added that “Kalibr” missies were launched from the Black Sea, and that S300s and Tu22M3 bombers launched X-22 missiles.?

Mig31K aircraft were spotted in the skies, Inhat said.??

Engels is an airbase in Russia that Moscow says came under attack from Ukrainian launched drones on?December 5.

Missile attacks have been reported across Ukraine on Friday, including in Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia

In?Kyiv, Mayor Vitaly Klitschko reported explosions in the capital’s Desniansky district.

CNN teams in Kyiv earlier reported hearing explosions, as well as seeing and hearing missiles. They also heard the air defense systems working in the Ukrainian capital.?

In Kharkiv, Oleh Syniehubv, head of the regional military administration, said “critical infrastructure facilities” were hit in the Chuhuiv district of Kharkiv region and in Kharkiv city.

In the central city of?Kryvyi Rih,?the head of the city military administration, Olkesandr Vilkul, reported that “there are rocket hits.”

In Zaporizhzhia, a “dozen and a half” Russian missile strikes have been reported, the regional military head, Oleksandr Starch, said on Telegram Friday.?

Starch said: “The consequences of the enemy attack are being clarified. All relevant services are working. We ask citizens to prepare for possible temporary restrictions while restoring the damaged infrastructure.”

Since October, Russia has waged a series of strikes against Ukraine that have damaged the energy system and civilian infrastructure, causing power outages in the freezing winter.

The region of Kharkiv has been hit “10 times” with “Russian S300” missiles, the head of the regional military admiration has said.

CNN has not been able to verify that the S300 is the missile used for the attacks.

He added that critical infrastructure and energy facilities were damaged and “there is no electricity in Kharkiv city.”

The subway and public transport are not working.

The mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, confirmed earlier Friday morning that Kharkiv city has been left without power. ?

“Kharkiv?city is without power, but all the ‘Invincibility Points’ work, where one can warm up, recharge phone, there is hot tea and the Internet,” he said.

Missile attacks were reported across Ukraine overnight including in Kyiv, Odesa, Poltava, Zhytmoyr,?Kharkiv?and Sumy.

CNN teams in the city have reported hearing explosions, as well as seeing and hearing missiles. They also heard the air defense systems working in the Ukrainian capital.?

People shelter inside a metro station during a partial power outage in Kyiv,?Ukraine, on?December 16.

All districts of Kyiv are experiencing water supply disruptions on Friday following Russian strikes on the capital, Mayor Vitaly Kitschko said on Telegram.

He also warned residents to stock up on water.

Metro service is suspended on all lines and “underground stations work as shelters,” the mayor added.

Kyiv city police have located?and published a photo of what they claim is a downed Russian missile.?“The missile was destroyed by air defense forces. Fortunately, there were no casualties,” police said on Twitter.

CNN teams in Kyiv earlier reported hearing explosions, as well as seeing and hearing missiles. They also heard the air defense systems working in the city.?

A residential building damaged by a Russian missile in Kryvyi Rih,?Ukraine, on?December 16.

Two people are dead and five others injured following Russian missile strikes on the city of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, a Ukrainian military official said Friday.

Valentyn Reznichenko, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said two children were among the injured, and were being treated in hospital.

Earlier Friday, the deputy head of the Ukrainian President’s Office said a residential building had been hit in the city, adding that people may be under the rubble.

Russia has waged a series of deadly strikes against Ukraine since October that have damaged the energy system and civilian infrastructure, causing power outages in the freezing winter.

Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure Friday have knocked out power on a number of railway sections, according to Ukrainian authorities.

The regions impacted include northeastern Kharkiv and central Kirovohrad. Trains in the eastern region of Donetsk and central Dnipropetrovsk are also affected.

Trains will continue to run under backup diesel locomotives, officials said.

Energy facilities in the east and south of Ukraine have been damaged following Russian missile attacks Friday, Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said.

There will be emergency power outages in some parts of the country, he added.?

Parts of Ukraine are without power on Friday following the Russian strikes, including the cities of Kharkiv and Poltava.

Russia has waged a series of missile and drone attacks against Ukraine since October that have damaged the energy system and civilian infrastructure, causing power outages in the freezing winter.

Three districts in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv have been hit by Russian missiles, Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said on Friday.

They are Holosiivskyi, Dniprovskyi and Desniansky along the eastern edge of the capital.

CNN teams in Kyiv earlier reported hearing explosions, as well as seeing and hearing missiles. They also heard the air defense systems working in the city.?

Parts of Ukraine are without power Friday following a wave of Russian missile attacks that hit multiple cities, including Kyiv, Odesa, Poltava, Zhytomyr, Kharkiv and Sumy.

A police officer stands next to part of a Russian cruise missile shot down by the Ukrainian Air Defence Forces in the Kyiv region,?Ukraine, on?December 16.

The Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Poltava are without power on Friday after Russia launched a wave of missile strikes across the country, according to Ukrainian officials.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said “Kharkiv city is without power,” but added that some centers were open where residents could warm up and recharge their phones.

Northeastern Kharkiv was Ukraine’s second most populous city before Russia’s invasion began in February.

In the central city of Poltava, Mayor Oleksandr Mamai said: “Stay calm. We are still without electricity supply.”

Meanwhile, a residential building was hit in the central city of Kryvyi Rih, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian President’s Office.

He said “there may be people under the rubble.”

Missile attacks have been reported across Ukraine on Friday, including in Kyiv, Odesa, Zhytomyr and Sumy.

Russian rocket attacks targeted critical infrastructure across Ukraine on Friday morning, according to regional officials.

In Kyiv, Mayor Vitaly Klitschko reported explosions in the capital’s Desniansky district.

CNN teams in Kyiv earlier reported hearing explosions, as well as seeing and hearing missiles. They also heard the air defense systems working in the Ukrainian capital.?

In northeastern Kharkiv, Oleh Syniehubv, head of the regional military administration, said “critical infrastructure facilities” were hit in Chuhuiv district.

And in the central city of Kryvyi Rih, the head of the city military administration, Olkesandr Vilkul, reported “there are rocket hits.”

Russia has waged a series strikes against Ukraine since October that have damaged the energy system and civilian infrastructure, causing power outages in the freezing winter.

Missile attacks have been reported across Ukraine on Friday, including in Kyiv, Odesa, Poltava, Zhytomyr, Kharkiv and Sumy.

CNN teams in Kyiv have reported hearing explosions, as well as seeing and hearing missiles. They also heard the air defense systems working in the Ukrainian capital.?

Earlier Friday, the deputy head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office urged people to stay in shelters as air raid sirens sounded across the country.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko meets the press in Borodianka, northern Ukraine on April 16.

Air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine on Friday, according to the deputy head of the Presidential Office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko.

Russia has waged a series strikes against Ukraine since October that have damaged the energy system and civilian infrastructure, causing power outages in the freezing winter.

Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s power grid are targeting the entire population, casting people into darkness and cold, and pushing the US closer to sending the?Patriot missile defense system long sought by Ukraine’s government.

But news,?first reported by CNN, that the US is finalizing plans to send the?system to?Ukraine triggered a cryptic warning from Russia’s US embassy Wednesday of?“unpredictable consequences.”

Sending the Patriot missiles would be seen as an escalation by the US, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova added?Thursday.

The Patriot system is expensive and complicated and requires intensive training for the multiple people it takes to operate it, but could help the country guard against Russian attacks that have left millions without power.

Asked Thursday about Russian warnings that the Patriot system would be “provocative,” Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said those comments would not influence US aid to Ukraine.

“I find it ironic and very telling that officials from a country that brutally attacked its neighbor in an illegal and unprovoked invasion … that they would choose to use words like provocative to describe defensive systems that are meant to save lives and protect civilians,”?Ryder told reporters.

However, he added, “The US is not at war with Russia, and we do not seek conflict. Our focus is on providing Ukraine with the security assistance it needs to defend itself.”

Ryder also said the US would?amp up its training?of Ukrainian armed forces with exercises in Europe.

Read the full analysis here.

Congress?has passed?a bipartisan $858 billion defense bill that would authorize?$858 billion in national defense funding, which includes $800 million in support for Ukraine.

The Senate?voted Thursday?to pass the massive National Defense Authorization Act, known as the NDAA, with bipartisan support. It follows the House’s bipartisan approval of the legislation last week.

The legislation now goes to President Joe Biden for his signature.

The NDAA?extends and modifies?the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, as well as authorizes $800 million in funding in fiscal year 2023, which is $500 million more than was contained in last year’s defense bill.

The program provides funding for the federal government to pay industry to produce weapons and security assistance to send to Ukraine, rather than drawing directly from current US stockpiles of weapons.

The funding authorization is intended to supplement additional money for the initiative expected in a future federal spending package, according to Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican who wrote the program into law in 2015.?

Also, the defense bill would expedite the delivery of munitions to Ukraine and the replenishment of associated US stockpiles by streamlining acquisition requirements and authorizing multiyear procurement for certain munitions, according to the House Armed Services Committee.

One of the key concerns throughout the ongoing conflict in Ukraine has been whether the industrial bases of the US and other allied nations can meet the demand required to support Ukraine.

This measure is focused on reducing bureaucratic red tape to help industry produce those weapons for Ukraine faster.

Read more about the bill here.

Jaroslaw Szymczyk in Rzeszow, Poland on July 27.

Poland’s police chief Jaroslaw Szymczyk was hospitalized with minor injuries on Wednesday after a gift that he had received in Ukraine suddenly exploded, according to a government statement

The statement alleged the gift came from one of the heads of Ukrainian services.

Poland has asked Ukraine to clarify what happened and a case was “immediately opened” with the prosecutor’s office and corresponding services, it said.

CNN has reached out to Kyiv regional police and national police for comment but have not yet received a response.

Szymczyk has been hospitalized for observation. A member of staff from the Police Headquarters also suffered minor injuries, but did not need hospitalization, according to the statement.

The incident follows a slew of suspicious mail sent to Ukrainian embassies in Europe, pushing Kyiv to put all of its overseas diplomatic stations under heightened security.

Ukraine’s embassies in Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia, Italy, Austria, as well as the consulates general in Naples and Krakow, have received suspicious packages, according to Oleh Nikolenko, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia shelled Kherson more than 16 times, Thursday, and hit a Red Cross aid station.

The southern city?was liberated?by Ukrainian troops last month after eight months of occupation by Russian forces. The retreat across the Dnipro River was a major blow to Moscow as Kherson was the only regional capital Russian forces had captured since February’s invasion.

Zelensky also noted the ongoing battles in the eastern Donbas region.

“The occupants are throwing everyone and everything they have at the offensive. They cannot overcome our army, so they physically destroy every town and village so that there are no buildings, not even walls, that can be used for any defense,” Zelensky said.

The US announced an expansion of training for Ukrainian armed forces in Europe “to include joint maneuver and combined arms operations training,” according to the Defense Department.??

CNN?first reported?that the US was considering expanding both the type of training provided to the Ukrainian military as well as the number of forces trained.

“Combined arms maneuver training is a logical next step in our ongoing training efforts which began in 2014 to build the Ukrainian armed forces capacity,” said Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder at a news briefing.

Ryder said the program will train approximately 500 Ukrainians per month starting in January and will be conducted in Germany by US Army Europe and Africa Command’s 7th?Army Training Command.

Ryder said he was “not aware” that the training would require additional US forces to be deployed.

“We have forces in place that have been conducting training, so to my knowledge, no significant increase in support,” he said.

The US had been providing this kind of training to the Ukrainian military prior to the Russian invasion, starting in 2014, according to Ryder.

“When Russia invaded, we withdrew our trainers from Ukraine, and so this is a continuation now of the training that we had previously provided,” Ryder said.

Ryder added that the training will include “live-fire exercises, followed by squad, platoon and company-level training that will then culminate in battalion-level maneuver training.”

In a series of interviews with?The Economist, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his top commanders say they expect a new offensive by Russia early in the new year — but are in no mood to compromise on their ultimate goals.?

Zelensky repeated that Ukraine’s aim was to retrieve the land it held when it became independent in 1991 —?including Crimea.?

Days after the Kremlin said Ukraine must recognize new realities, including Russia’s recent annexation of four Ukrainian regions, Zelensky repeated that Ukraine would make no concessions. “If he [Putin] now withdraws to the 1991 borders then the possible path of diplomats will begin. That is who can really turn the war from a military path to a diplomatic one. Only he can do it.”?

Zelensky said it was “a little scary” to visit recently liberated towns and witness how the occupation had changed people.?

“I must admit that this propaganda model of the Kremlin — it works.” It had changed Ukrainians in occupied territories. They were like “astronauts who cannot take off heavy helmets — limiting what they can see to unrelenting disinformation.”?

The overall military commander in Ukraine, Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, said he expected a new Russian offensive in the new year.?

“They [Russian forces] are 100% being prepared,” he said.?

A major Russian attack could come “in February, at best in March and at worst at the end of January”, he said. And it could come anywhere: in Donbas, where Putin is eager to capture the remainder of Donetsk province; in the south, towards the city of Dnipro; even towards Kyiv.?

Ukrainian forces have unleashed the biggest attack on the occupied?Donetsk?region since 2014, according to a Russia-installed official, in the wake of?heavy fighting?in the east of the country.

Donetsk has been held by Russian-backed separatists for eight years and it is one of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow attempted to annex in October, in violation of international law.

Kulemzin shared photographs on Telegram of damage to residential and commercial buildings and a cathedral.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, according to Russian state media.

CNN cannot independently confirm Kulemzin’s claims.

Read more here.