Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of breaking ceasefire around energy sites

Repair works to a substation destroyed by a Russian drone strike in Ukraine (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)

Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of breaking the terms of a tentative US brokered deal to pause strikes on energy infrastructure, underscoring the challenges on negotiating a broader peace.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said Ukrainian drone attacks hit an electric facility in the Bryansk region early on Wednesday and a power grid facility in the Kursk region on Tuesday, leading to a power cut affecting thousands of people.