Russian air strikes keep up pressure on energy system in Mykolaiv, Odesa

KYIV (Reuters) -A Russian missile and drone attack damaged a Ukrainian energy facility in the Black Sea region of Odesa and energy infrastructure in the city of Mykolaiv on Wednesday, keeping up pressure on the embattled power grid, officials said.

Russia renewed its aerial assault on the energy system last month, devastating at least eight power plants and several dozen substations more than two years since the February 2022 invasion.

The Ukrainian grid operator said there were emergency blackouts in the southern regions of Mykolaiv and Kherson because of the damage, and that they were working to repair it.

The air force said Russia launched 17 attack drones and three missiles at Ukraine in its latest overnight attacks and that air defences downed 14 of the drones and two of the missiles.

The strikes on Odesa region targeted critical and logistics infrastructure, regional governor Oleh Kiper said. He did not name the damaged energy facility and said nobody was hurt.

The military said energy infrastructure in the southern city of Mykolaiv was damaged as a result of the attack and power supply was disrupted for several hours. There were no casualties, it added.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Lisbon, Max Hunder and Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Tom Balmforth and Alison Williams)

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