Ukrainian Strikes Kill Three in Russia's Belgorod as Russian Attacks Cut Power Across Nine Ukrainian Regions

Ukrainian drone strikes have killed three people in Russia's Belgorod region, local Russian authorities have reported.

Belgorod borders Ukraine, and local authorities announced the three deaths on Wednesday.

In Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia's overnight attacks damaged power generation facilities and substations in nine regions, leaving emergency outages in many cities.

Russia's Defence Ministry confirmed on Telegram that it hit two power stations in Ukraine's Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions. Ukraine has repeatedly said Moscow is targeting its energy grid as temperatures drop before winter.

Overnight, Russian attacks on critical infrastructure caused hours-long power and water outages across Kyiv and surrounding regions.

Residents in the capital were urged to use public drinking water fountains, and emergency centres offering hot tea and power points to charge devices were set up in the worst-hit areas.

There were also power outages in Crimea, the peninsula Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014, home to approximately 2.5 million residents.

Russia's Ministry of Energy said Ukrainian strikes hit energy infrastructure overnight and that temporary outage schedules were in force. It did not say how many households were affected.

Reports also indicated that Russian-held Crimea ordered power cuts after an accident outside the region, a Moscow-installed official said, according to the Reuters news agency.

In addition to Kyiv, Russia also hit the regions of Poltava, Dnipro, Kirovohrad and Rivne, Reuters reported, citing Ukraine's emergency service and local officials.

In southern Russia, a Ukrainian drone attack started a fire at a major warehouse belonging to Ozon, known as Russia's Amazon. The strike was on an Ozon distribution facility in the town of Adygeysk, in the Republic of Adygea, regional head Murat Kumpilov said.

Ozon said all workers were evacuated and no one was hurt, and that it had removed damaged goods from its listings and rerouted deliveries.

Russia's Defence Ministry also said it downed 709 Ukrainian drones across 14 regions, Crimea and the Black and Azov seas.

Amid the ongoing fighting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin hopes United States President Donald Trump will continue his peace efforts after a sweeping Democratic victory in the congressional midterms dealt a blow to the president.

Asked by the state-run Interfax news outlet whether a change in Congress could hinder Trump's peace efforts, Peskov said it was an internal matter for America.

Democratic control of the legislature in January is expected to bring a more vocal pro-Kyiv majority in Congress that could pressure Trump to change tack, but there is little hope that the US will return as a major financial backer of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy awarded US First Lady Melania Trump the Order of Princess Olga, which honours women who have contributed to Ukraine, according to a presidential decree on Wednesday. The decree noted her significant personal contribution in providing support for humanitarian aid and children in Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials say the US first lady played a pivotal role in organising a six-day local ceasefire to evacuate civilians from the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, which ended on Sunday.