Power has been restored to 270,000 consumers in Kyiv following Russian drone attacks that knocked out electricity supplies, Ukraine's energy minister Svitlana Hrynchuk announced on Facebook on Friday. The attacks, which targeted Ukraine's energy system, left many residents without power after a night of explosions. Firefighters were seen tackling burning blocks of flats in images posted online.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the strikes targeted civilian and energy infrastructure as the country prepares for winter. In the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, Russian drones and missiles damaged 12 apartment buildings, killing a seven-year-old boy and injuring four people, according to the regional governor. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported 12 injuries, with eight people hospitalised.
In other developments, Russian President Vladimir Putin rowed back comments from his deputy foreign minister, who had said that the “momentum” from Alaska talks had been lost and that US-Russia relations were collapsing. Putin stated on Friday that discussions with Washington were continuing, despite a hardening of Donald Trump's stance towards Russia.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and President Zelenskyy discussed the “fair use” of frozen Russian assets for Ukraine's defence and rebuilding. Zelenskyy called for more political will in Europe, saying, “There are solutions for how this can be done. We are getting closer to a decision on the assets.”
US First Lady Melania Trump announced on Friday that eight Ukrainian children had been reunited with their families after contact with Vladimir Putin. She had written to Putin in August, with her husband hand-delivering the letter during his meeting with the Russian president in Alaska. The reunifications occurred over the past 24 hours.
