Russian missiles knock out power in cities across Ukraine as Bukhmut battle rages

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in late Wednesday video address that the battle for Bakhmut and the surrounding Donbas region was "our first priority."

Volleys of Russian missiles struck a series of Ukrainian regions early on Thursday, including the Black Sea port of Odesa and the second city of 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, cutting power. 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.

Late on Wednesday, Ukraine’s military said it had managed to push back intense Russian attacks on the city of Bakhmut despite a Russian claim of control over its eastern half.

As one of the bloodiest battles of the year-long war ground on in the small city’s ruins, Ukrainian defenders – who last week appeared to be preparing for a tactical retreat – remained defiant.

“The enemy continued its attacks and has shown no sign of a letup in storming the city of Bakhmut,” the General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said on Facebook. “Our defenders repelled attacks on Bakhmut and on surrounding communities.”

Ukrainian military and political leaders now speak of hanging on to positions and inflicting as many casualties as possible on the Russians to grind down their fighting capability.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in late Wednesday video address that the battle for Bakhmut and the surrounding Donbas region was “our first priority.”