Firefighters battle flames at Kharkiv power station after Russian attack

Flames lit up the night sky at a power station on the western outskirts of Kharkiv on Sunday after it was hit in a strike. Thick smoke billowed into the air, illuminated by the orange glow of the fire. Ukrainian officials said Kharkiv TEC-5, the country’s second-biggest heat and power plant, had been hit in a Russian attack.

"I will not hide the fact that the consequences of missile strikes are severe," city mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote on his Telegram channel.

At least one person was killed at the plant, according to the head of the Kharkiv regional administration. Russia struck at Ukraine's infrastructure Sunday night, causing widespread blackouts, with the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions among those without power, officials said. Authorities were working to restore the supply of electricity and water to Kharkiv residents.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced the “deliberate and cynical missile strikes” against civilian targets as acts of terrorism. Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv appeared to be without power Sunday night. Cars drove through darkened streets, and the few pedestrians used flashlights or mobile phones to light their way. Separately, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the Russia-occupied south completely shut down in a bid to prevent a radiation disaster as fighting raged nearby.