More than a million households in Ukraine have been left without electricity after a series of Russian attacks overnight, hitting energy and industrial infrastructure, officials have said.
Ukraine's Interior Minister, Ihor Klimenko, said that five regions had been affected and at least five people had been injured, and that work was underway to put out the fire and restore power supply.
Although Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure have been frequent throughout the war, Moscow has stepped up its strikes as winter approaches.
This comes ahead of a trip by US President Donald Trump's foreign policy envoy Steve Witkoff to Germany, where he is due to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders as part of further talks on ending the war, according to the BBC.
Witkoff, who is leading the White House's efforts to mediate between Ukraine and Russia, will discuss the latest version of the proposed peace agreement in Berlin.
Zelensky said today that Russia used more than 450 drones and 30 missiles in the night attacks. Klimenko said that the regions affected were Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Odessa and Chernihiv.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the attacks used weapons including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, which are difficult to track because they can change direction during flight.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that Ukraine's Zaporozhye nuclear power plant was temporarily without all external power overnight "due to widespread military activity affecting the power grid," but that it has now been reconnected.
The power plant is located in Russian-controlled Ukraine. It is not operational, but relies on a constant supply of electricity to keep its reactors cool.
In Russia, regional governor Roman Busargin said two people were killed in Saratov after a drone attack hit an apartment building.
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The Trump administration is pushing to have a deal to end the war in place by Christmas and has held several rounds of talks with Ukrainian and Russian representatives in recent weeks, although there has been little indication that a breakthrough is in sight.
It has not yet been confirmed which European leaders will attend the talks in Berlin.
The Wall Street Journal, which first reported details of the meeting, said it would include British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The meeting between Vitkoff and Zelensky comes after Ukraine submitted its revised version of a 20-point peace plan to the United States, the latest version of a proposal that first emerged in late November and sparked a wave of diplomatic activity.
The fate of territory in eastern Ukraine remains one of the most stubborn issues in the negotiations, with Kiev refusing to cede land that is illegally occupied, while Moscow reiterates its intention to completely seize Donbas by force unless Ukraine withdraws.
Zelensky reacted skeptically to the White House's latest proposal to resolve the territorial issue, according to which the Ukrainian military would withdraw from the region and it would be turned into a "special economic zone."
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The Ukrainian president told reporters that, under the terms proposed by the US, the Kremlin would undertake not to advance into areas that Ukrainian forces would abandon, with the land between the Russian-controlled parts of Donbas and Ukrainian defense lines effectively being turned into a demilitarized zone.
"What will stop (Russia) from advancing? Or from infiltrating disguised as civilians?" Zelensky said.
Publicly, Ukraine and its European allies have described the US-led talks as fruitful and welcomed progress in securing changes to the plan, which was widely seen as favoring Russia when it first emerged.
However, in recent weeks there have been signs that Trump is losing patience with Zelensky and his allies on the continent.
In a scathing interview with Politico earlier this week, the US president called European leaders "weak" and reiterated calls for Ukraine to hold elections.
Zelensky said the elections could be held within 90 days if the US and Europe provide the necessary security. The elections have been suspended since martial law was declared when Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
While the White House's diplomatic initiative continues, attention in Europe is focused on how to support Ukraine in the event of a peace agreement, with ongoing talks on security guarantees and financing.
The Ukrainian government is facing a difficult financial situation: it needs to find an additional 135,7 billion euros in the next two years, according to the BBC.
On Friday, EU countries agreed to freeze around 210 billion euros of Russian assets located in Europe indefinitely.
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The agreement is expected to pave the way for these funds, if an agreement is reached at the EU summit next week, to be channeled to Ukraine through loans, which would provide Kiev with financial support for the army and the reconstruction of parts of the country devastated after almost four years of total war.
The Kremlin condemned the move as theft, and the Russian central bank said it would sue Euroclear, the Belgian financial institution that holds the vast majority of Russian assets frozen after the invasion.
Officials are still negotiating the exact structure of the deal that would redirect Russian funds to benefit Ukraine, with the Belgian government particularly skeptical about the legal exposure, given that it is the primary holder of the assets.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that the latest version of the peace plan circulating envisages Ukraine's accelerated entry into the European Union.
The Financial Times reported that Brussels supports Ukraine's rapid accession to the Union, an idea that Ukraine put forward in its latest draft submitted to Washington.
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Ukraine formally applied for EU membership days after the 2022 invasion, but despite promises of an accelerated process, it is still several years away from full membership, according to the BBC.
Under the plan, Ukraine would become a member as early as January 2027, AFP reported, citing an unnamed senior official. It was not clear whether Washington had approved that part of the draft.
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