Freezing Ukraine gradually restores power after Russian strikes on grid

Ukrainian authorities on Friday gradually restored power, aided by the reconnection of the country's four nuclear plants, but millions of people were still in the dark after the most devastating Russian air strikes of the war, Qazet.az reports.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pleaded with Ukrainians to use energy sparingly. "If there is electricity, this doesn't mean you can turn on several powerful electrical appliances at once," he said in an evening video address.

He said 6 million people were still without power, half as many as there were in the immediate aftermath of the Russian assault on Wednesday. The attacks caused the worst damage so far in the conflict, leaving millions of people with no light, water or heat even as temperatures fell below zero.

National power grid operator Ukrenergo said several hours earlier that 30% of electricity supplies were still out, and asked people to cut back on their energy use. "Repairs crews are working around the clock," it said in a statement on Telegram.

Zelenskiy went to the town of Vyshhorod just north of Kyiv on Friday to look at a four-storey building damaged by a Russian missile. He also visited one of the many emergency centres that have been set up to provide heat, water, electricity and mobile communications.

"Together we will be able to go through this difficult path for our country. We will overcome all challenges and we will definitely win," he said in an earlier video statement.