Russia-Ukraine war live: blackouts in Odesa and Kharkiv amid missile strikes across Ukraine

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Zelenskiy said that his children are still in Ukraine.

“My daughter joined the university and she studies there, and my son is attending school in Ukraine,” he said in his CNN interview.

“They’re both in Ukraine. They’re very much like other Ukrainian kids. We live with sirens.”

“We want victory. We don’t want to get used to war, but we got used to the challenges. Everyone wants one thing: to end the war,” he said.

'We don't have any circumstances to talk to [Putin]' Zelenskiy tells CNN

Zelenskiy appeared on CNN this evening in the US, in a pre-recorded interview.

When asked by Wolf Blitzer what it would take to get him to meet with Putin, Zelenskiy said, “We don’t have any circumstances to talk to the Russian Federation president because he doesn’t hold his word”.

Here is more detail on what local officials have said. The governor of Odesa region, Maksym Marchenko, said a mass missile attack had hit an energy facility in the port city, triggering power cuts.

“As a result of a mass missile strike, an energy infrastructure site was hit in the region as well as residences,” Marchenko said on Telegram. He said anti-aircraft units had downed some missiles and new attacks could follow.

“Fortunately, there are no casualties. Electricity restrictions are in effect.”

Kharkiv region Governor Oleh Synehubov said the city and region had been hit by about 15 strikes.

“The enemy made about 15 strikes on the city and region,” he said on Telegram. “Infrastructure was again among the targets. Information on casualties is being clarified.”

Another strike was reported in the central city of Dnipro and in the western towns of Lutsk and Rivne, far from the front lines in the year-old war.

Air raid sirens are sounding across the country before dawn this morning. BBC Ukraine correspondent Myroslava Petsa wrote on Twitter, “It’s 3 am in Ukraine. Russia won’t let Ukrainians sleep tight tonight. Lots of drones and rockets fired in all possible directions in Ukraine … This is the terror civilians’ve been living through for more than a year already.”

Analysts and Ukrainian leaders had expected mass missile strikes during the week of the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 24 February.

The Kyiv Independent reports that explosions have been heard in several cities and regional communities, but we are waiting for confirmation from local officials.

The newspaper listed the cities and regions of Kyiv, Poltava, Lviv, Vinnytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Kharkiv, Odesa, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk among those where explosions were heard.

Russia strikes many Ukrainian regions

Russian strikes hit a series of Ukrainian regions early on Thursday, including the Black Sea port of Odesa and Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, knocking out power to several areas, Reuters reported, citing regional officials.

The governor of Odesa region, Maksym Marchenko, said on Telegram that a mass missile attack had hit an energy facility in the port city, triggering power cuts. Residential areas had also been hit, but no casualties were reported.

Kharkiv region governor Oleh Synehubov said the city and region had been hit by 15 strikes, with targets including infrastructure. Other strikes were reported in the central city of Dnipro and regions throughout the country.

Summary

Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine. My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest.

It’s 5am local time in Kyiv, and we have reports of strikes across Ukraine, including the Black Sea port of Odesa and Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, knocking out power to several areas, regional officials said.

The governor of Odesa region, Maksym Marchenko, said on Telegram that a mass missile attack had hit an energy facility in the port city, triggering power cuts.

We’ll have more news shortly. In the meantime here are the key recent developments in the war:

• The city of Bakhmut, in Ukraine’s east, could fall in the next few days, said Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg. “What we see is that Russia is throwing more troops, more forces and what Russia lacks in quality they try to make up in quantity. They have suffered big losses, but at the same time, we cannot rule out that Bakhmut may eventually fall in the coming days,” he said.

• The founder of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, which has been leading the Russian assault on Bakhmut, has said Russian forces now fully control the east of the city. The claims have not been independently verified. The General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said in its Wednesday morning report: “The enemy, despite significant losses, continues to storm the town of Bakhmut.”

• Russia is unlikely to capture significantly more territory this year, according to the US director of national intelligence, Avril Haines. She told a Senate hearing that the military will probably be unable to carry on its current level of fighting, even with the possible capture of Bakhmut.

• The Pentagon has been accused of blocking the sharing of US intelligence with the international criminal court (ICC) about Russian war crimes in Ukraine. The defence department is said to be firmly opposed to using the Hague-based ICC, as a means of holding Russian forces accountable for widespread war crimes on the grounds that the precedent could eventually be turned against US soldiers.

• Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has invited top US house speaker Kevin McCarthy to visit Ukraine as doubts over support for Kyiv’s war efforts simmer in Congress, particularly among conservatives. Zelensky proposed the visit in an interview with CNN.

• Zelensky has also called for “democratic success” in Georgia where thousands of protesters have rallied for a second day, against a controversial “foreign agent” bill, reminiscent of Russian legislation used to silence critics. “There is no Ukrainian who would not wish success to our friendly Georgia. Democratic success. European success,” he said in his evening address to the nation.

• The US obtained a warrant to seize a Boeing aircraft owned by Russian oil company Rosneft that is valued at over $25m, the Justice Department said. The District Court for the Eastern District of New York authorised the seizure, based on violations of export controls and sanctions against Russia, the Justice Department said.

• In a visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, UN secretary general, António Guterres, told journalists it was “critical” that a deal that allows safe passage for ships carrying grain out of Ukraine across the Black Sea be renewed, with Ukraine traditionally being one of the world’s largest exporters of grain. A senior UN trade official will meet Russian representatives to discuss the extension of the deal.

• European Union foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said on Wednesday he had suggested the bloc spend €1bn for the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine and to refill their own stockpiles. “I propose to mobilise another €1bn,” Reuters reported he told the media after a meeting of EU defence ministers in Stockholm.

• Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg said that it was still uncertain who carried out the attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September last year, and that national investigations needed to be allowed to finish.

• German officials announced that they searched a ship in January that they believe many have been used to transport explosives used in the sabotage. Germany has the lead role in the investigation.

• Intelligence reviewed by US officials suggested a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines in 2022, the New York Times has reported. There was no evidence President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, or his top lieutenants were involved, or that the perpetrators were acting at the direction of any Ukrainian government officials, said the report, citing US officials.