Ukraine war: Snowy Kyiv battles power cuts, Russia 'may leave' Zaporizhzhia, Kherson exodus - Euronews

Snow fell in Kyiv and temperatures hovered around freezing on Sunday as millions in and around the Ukrainian capital struggled with disruptions to electricity supply and central heating caused by waves of Russian air strikes.

Ukrenergo, the state power grid operator, said on Sunday that electricity producers are now supplying about 80% of demand -- an increase of 5% on Saturday. The capacity deficit stood at 20%, it added.

Zelenskyy said on Saturday evening that there were restrictions on the use of electricity in 14 out of Ukraine's 27 regions, including Kyiv and the surrounding area.

The head of Ukraine's state-run nuclear energy firm said on Sunday there were signs that Russian forces might be preparing to leave the vast Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant which they seized in March soon after their invasion.

"Firstly, there are a very large number of reports in Russian media that it would be worth vacating the (plant) and maybe worth handing control (of it) to the (International Atomic Energy Agency - IAEA)," he said, referring to the United Nations nuclear watchdog.

On Friday, the IAEA said Ukraine's three nuclear plants on government-held territory had been reconnected to the grid, two days after a Russian missile barrage forced them to shut for the first time in 40 years.

Fleeing Russian shelling, civilians on Saturday streamed out of the southern Ukrainian city whose recapture they had celebrated just weeks earlier.

Days of intensive shelling by Russian forces prompted a bittersweet exodus.

At least 32 people in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson have been killed by Russian shelling since pro-Moscow forces pulled out two weeks ago, the head of Ukraine's police said on Saturday.

Analysts have predicted that wintry weather — bringing with it frozen terrain and grueling fighting conditions — could have an increasing impact on the direction of the conflict that has raged since Russian forces invaded Ukraine more than nine months ago.

ISW said Russian forces were digging in further east of the city of Kherson, from which they were expelled by Ukrainian forces more than two weeks ago, and continued “routine artillery fire” across the Dnipro River.

President Zelenskyy said some $150 million (€144 million) had been raised under the "Grain from Ukraine" programme following Saturday's food security summit held in Kyiv.