Russian strikes hit an apartment building and energy sites in Ukraine, killing 4

By Samya Kullab and Joanna Kozlowska Associated Press KYIV Ukraine A Russian drone slammed into an apartment building in eastern Ukraine early Saturday while numerous were sleeping killing three people and wounding others Ukrainian leadership communicated Related Articles Kremlin says its test of a nuclear-powered missile reflects shield concerns Trump says he ll meet with Putin in Hungary He first meets Friday with Zelenskyy at the White House Russian strike seriously damages Ukrainian power plant as winter approaches leaders say At least people are killed in a large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine Russia launches a large-scale attack on Ukraine killing and wounding dozens The attack in Dnipro Ukraine s fourth-largest city was part of a large Russian missile and drone barrage across the country that targeted power infrastructure and also killed a worker at an capacity company in Kharkiv farther north a local official announced A fire broke out and several apartments were destroyed in the nine-story building in Dnipro the exigency services reported Rescuers recovered the bodies of three people while two children were among the wounded Russia fired a total of drones and missiles including ballistic missiles Ukrainian forces shot down and neutralized drones and nine missiles the air force disclosed adding that locations were struck Leadership switched off power in several regions because of the attacks Ukrainian Force Minister Svitlana Grynchuk declared in a post on Facebook In eastern Ukraine fighting for the strategic city of Pokrovsk has reached a key stage with both Kyiv and Moscow vying to persuade U S President Donald Trump that they can win on the battlefield Meanwhile Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reported Saturday that work has begun on President Vladimir Putin s order to prepare plans for a viable Russian nuclear test according to state news agency Tass Putin s order on Wednesday followed statements by Trump which appeared to suggest that Washington would restart its own atomic tests for the first time in three decades During a news briefing Saturday Lavrov explained that Russia had received no clarification from the U S regarding its intentions Potency sites attacked Russia has been pummeling Ukraine with near-daily drone and missile strikes killing and wounding civilians The Kremlin says its only targets are linked to Kyiv s war effort Russia s Defense Ministry asserted Saturday that the nighttime strikes hit military and resource sites supplying Ukrainian forces Moscow and Kyiv have traded almost daily assaults on each other s power targets as U S -led diplomatic efforts to stop the nearly four-year war had no impact on the battlefield Ukraine s long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries aim to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it requirements to pursue the war Russia wants to cripple the Ukrainian power grid and deny civilians access to heat light and running water in what Kyiv executives say is an attempt to weaponize winter Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko explained in an X post that the strikes damaged several major vigor facilities around Kharkiv and Kyiv as well as in the central Poltava region An strength company worker was killed in Kharkiv Ukraine s second-largest city regional head Oleh Syniehubov disclosed in a post on Telegram We are working to eliminate the consequences of the attacks across the country The focus is on the rapid restoration of heating electricity and water supply Svyrydenko added Thermal power plants operated by Ukraine s state vigor company Centrenergo were again knocked offline by the nighttime strikes the company commented in a declaration Saturday Centrenergo s three plants in Kyiv Kharkiv and Donetsk regions were damaged by Russian attacks last year and subsequently restored The very same plants that were targeted last year and restored were struck again each minute by Russian drones the company reported Russian forces meanwhile repelled a massive nighttime strike on power facilities in the southern Volgograd region Gov Andrei Bocharov stated Saturday two days after Ukraine explained that it hit a key oil refinery there with long-range drones Bocharov added that the strike knocked out power in parts of the region s northwest but caused no casualties There was no immediate comment from Kyiv Russia s Defense Ministry commented on Saturday that its forces shot down Ukrainian drones during the night including eight over the Volgograd region Two people were wounded in the neighboring Saratov region after a Ukrainian drone strike blew out windows in an apartment building according to regional Gov Roman Busarin Russian oil Following weeks of long-range strikes on Russia s ability infrastructure that Ukraine says both funds and directly fuels the Kremlin s war Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed on Friday to find a way to ensure there is no Russian oil in Europe Zelenskyy spoke to reporters shortly after Hungary secured an exemption from latest U S sanctions targeting major Russian oil producers We will not allow it We will not let the Russians sell oil there It s a matter of time he reported at a news briefing after meeting with senior Ukrainian military leaders without elaborating how Kyiv might seek to stanch the oil flows Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb n a Trump ally who has long urged the European Union to repair ties with Moscow argues that landlocked Hungary has no viable alternatives to Russian crude and that replacing those supplies would trigger an economic collapse Critics dispute that claim The Trump administration unveiled sanctions against Russia s major state-affiliated oil firms Rosneft and Lukoil last month a move that could expose their foreign buyers including customers in Central Europe India and China to secondary sanctions While majority of the EU s member states sharply reduced or halted imports of Russian fossil fuels after Moscow s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb Hungary and Slovakia have maintained their pipeline deliveries Hungary has even increased the share of Russian oil in its vitality mix Fighting for Pokrovsk The city of Pokrovsk sits along the eastern front line part of what has been dubbed the fortress belt of Donetsk a line of heavily fortified cities crucial to Ukraine s defense of the region It could also be a key point in influencing Washington s stance and sway the subject of peace negotiations analysts say Putin says his forces are on the cusp of winning As a prerequisite for peace he demands that Ukraine cede the Donbas made up of Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk Russia troops advanced near Pokrovsk and the nearby town of Myrnohrad according to the Russian Defense Ministry on Saturday saying both were encircled It also stated Russian forces surrounded Ukrainian defenders in Kupiansk a key railway hub in the northeastern Kharkiv region Kyiv didn t at once respond to Moscow s statements which couldn t be independently verified Ukrainian bureaucrats have previously acknowledged that the situation in Pokrovsk is dire But they disclosed there was no blockade either there or in Kupiansk and that fighting continued Joanna Kozlowska informed from London Follow AP s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https apnews com hub russia-ukraine