Russian strikes force Ukraine to face hours-long power cuts

Buskers play in the snow in front of a monument in Kyiv, Ukraine (John Leicester/AP)

Ukraine’s electricity grid operator has warned of hours-long power outages as Russia zeroed in on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with renewed artillery and missile attacks that have interrupted supply to as much as 40% of the population at the onset of winter.

Ukrenergo said outages could last for several hours with colder temperatures putting additional pressure on energy networks.