RUSSIAN MISSILE STRIKES FORCE EMERGENCY POWER SHUTDOWNS

Ukraine is switching to emergency shutdowns to stabilise its power grid after a fresh wave of Russian missile attacks hit the country on Monday.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said many regions were affected, and officials said half of the Kyiv region would go without electricity in the coming days.

Four people were killed in Monday’s attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure.

And overnight more missiles hit critical facilities near the southern city of Zaporizhzhia.

In a separate development today, the governor of Russia’s Kursk region said a drone attack on an airfield set an oil storage tank alight. Videos showed fierce flames and dense black smoke billowing from the site.

In Ukraine, the energy minister said he hoped to significantly reduce the power deficit caused by the latest Russian strikes by bringing nuclear power stations back onto the grid.

The country is now seeing snow and sub-zero temperatures in many regions, and millions are without electricity.