Ukrainian shelling hits Russia’s Kursk region

A woman was killed in Ukrainian shelling of Russia's Kursk region and drones struck a fuel facility in the neighbouring region of Orlyov, the two regions' governors said yesterday, amid an escalation of cross-border attacks.

In a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app, Kursk region governor Roman Starovoit said a woman had been killed by shelling in the village of Gornal, near the border with Ukraine.

At least five drones were shot down over the Kursk region yesterday, Starovoit and Russia's defence ministry said.

The governor of Oryol region, Andrei Klychkov, said two drones had hit a fuel facility, injuring three and causing a fire that was later extinguished. He said three drones had been shot shown.

In a statement posted on Telegram, Klychkov called the events "an enemy attack".

Russian border regions have repeatedly come under fire from Ukraine in recent months. On December 30, at least 20 people were killed in a missile strike on the city of Belgorod, 40 km (25 miles) from Ukraine, Russian media said.

Russia has also recently fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Ukrainian cities, including some far behind the frontline, Ukrainian officials have said.

In the latest strike this week, Russia fired 51 missiles of various types, killing at least four people and hitting civilian infrastructure, they said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's power grid operator said yesterday severe winter weather left more than 1,000 towns and villages without electricity in nine regions and urged residents to conserve power as the energy system has been weakened by Russian strikes.

Electricity consumption was at this week's highest levels as temperatures fell to about -15 °C in many parts of the country, grid operator Ukrenergo said.

"The consumption level continues to grow due to the considerable drop in temperature across the country," it said on the Telegram messaging app, adding that electricity consumption in the morning was already 5.8 percent higher than the day before.

"As of this morning due to bad weather - strong winds, ice power was cut off in 1,025 settlements."

The weather caused significant damage to distribution networks with strong winds, frost, and a thick layer of ice on equipment, which delayed repair works, Ukrenergo said.

Vitaliy Kim, governor of southern Mykolaiv region where 215 towns and villages have been cut off from electricity, said ice on electricity cables was over 5 cm thick.

Ukrenergo said the power system was already working at maximum capacity and urged residents to save electricity as much as possible and avoid using several electrical appliances simultaneously to help the system cope.

In a separate development, Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said yesterday that Ukraine has a deficit of anti-aircraft guided missiles nearly two years after Russia's full-scale invasion.

Ukraine has relied heavily on military and financial aid from its Western allies since the invasion in February 2022, but political wrangling has delayed the disbursement of major aid packages for this year.

Ihnat told Ukrainian television that Ukraine had used a "considerable reserve" of missiles defending itself against recent attacks, and added: "It is clear that there is a deficit of anti-aircraft guided missiles."

Russia has stepped up missile and drone attacks on Ukraine in the past few weeks, firing hundreds of missiles and drones at Ukrainian cities far behind the frontline, Ukrainian officials have said.