Passengers ride in a city bus down a street during a power cut in downtown Odessa, Ukraine, December 5, 2022. /CFP
Ukraine's power system is functioning and remains intact despite Russia's latest missile attacks on the energy facilities, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Monday.
Energy facilities in the Kyiv region in northern Ukraine, the central Vinnytsya region and the southern Odesa region were hit by missile strikes, Shmyhal said on Telegram.
Ukrainian state-run energy company Ukrenergo said the situation in Ukraine's energy system is "difficult, but controllable" after the attacks.
Emergency power outages have been introduced in all regions throughout the country, Ukrenergo said in a statement.
The Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that it shot down more than 60 out of over 70 missiles fired by Russia against Ukraine's critical infrastructure on Monday.
The attack marked the eighth wave of Russia's air strikes against Ukraine since October 10.
The United States said it would convene a virtual meeting on Thursday with oil and gas executives to discuss how it can support Ukrainian energy infrastructure, according to a letter seen by Reuters.
A Ukrainian serviceman flies a drone during an operation against Russian positions in the Donetsk region, December 4, 2022. /CFP
While Ukraine condemned the fresh wave of air strikes, Russia accused Kyiv of attacking deep inside Russia with drones.
Russia's defense ministry on Monday said Ukrainian drones attacked two air bases at Ryazan and Saratov in south-central Russia, killing three servicemen and wounding four, with two aircraft damaged by pieces of the drones when they were shot down.
Ukraine did not directly claim responsibility for the attacks.
The New York Times, citing a senior Ukrainian official, said drones targeting two military bases were launched from the Ukrainian territory, and at least one of the strikes was made with the help of special forces close to the base.
Russia's defense ministry said the attacks were acts of terrorism intended to disable long-range aircraft, and the low-flying drones were shot down. The deaths were reported on the Ryazan base, 185 kilometers southeast of Moscow.
Russia responded with a "massive strike on the military control system" and other targets using high-precision air- and sea-based weapons in which all 17 objectives were hit, the ministry said.
(With input from agencies)