Mayor of Kharkiv says strike that knocked out power and water was act of ‘revenge’ by Russia

• Russia-Ukraine war – latest updates
  

Russia targeted infrastructure facilities in central and eastern Ukraine on Sunday evening in a response to a dramatic Ukrainian counter-offensive in Kharkiv province that has reshaped the war and left Moscow reeling.

The mayor of Kharkiv city, Ihor Terekhov, said a strike had knocked out power and water to much of the city, in what he described as an act of “revenge” by Russia for Ukraine’s recent battlefield successes. There were reports of blackouts in Dnipro, Poltava and other eastern cities, potentially affecting millions of civilians.

Cruise missiles hit infrastructure in what Ukraine says is revenge attack over recent rapid gains

• Russia-Ukraine war – latest updates

Russian strikes have knocked out power and water to much of the Kharkiv region, plunging its cities into darkness and cutting power in hospitals in what Ukraine described as an act of “revenge” by Russia for its recent battlefield successes.

Over the last few days, Ukrainian forces have recaptured the majority of Russian-occupied territory in the region in a lightning offensive.

Russian army pulls back thousands of troops and Kyiv takes control of vital town of Izium

• Ukraine-Russia war: latest updates

Ukraine’s lightning counter-offensive in the north-east of the country has inflicted an extraordinary defeat on Moscow, prompting the Russian army to pull back thousands of troops after suffering a series of battlefield defeats.

In a day of momentous developments, Ukrainian forces confirmed the liberation of the crucial rail hub of Kupiansk and shortly after seized Izium, the major base for Moscow’s forces in the Kharkiv region.