Breaking news from Ukraine: Mad Putin tests ‘powerful hypersonic weapons’ as Kiev fights to liberate occupied city

Around 1.5m without power in Odessa after Russian drones destroyed power plants

All non-critical infrastructure at Ukraine’s port of Odessa was without power after Russia used Iranian-made drones to hit two power plants, leaving 1.5 million people without power, officials said on Saturday.

“The situation in the Odessa region is very difficult,” said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his nightly video address.

“Unfortunately, the hits were critical, so it takes more than just time to restore power… It doesn’t take hours, just a few days, unfortunately.”

Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesman for the Odessa regional administration, said power supply to the city’s population will be restored “in the coming days,” while it could take two to three months for the grids to be fully restored.

Bratchuk said a previous Facebook post by the regional administration advising some people to consider evacuation is being investigated by Ukraine’s security services as an “element of Russia’s hybrid war”.

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