MOSCOW, 29 JAN

Russian officials said on Wednesday that the country’s energy infrastructure, including a nuclear power plant, come under attack by at least 100 Ukrainian drones overnight. Ukraine also reported strikes.

The continuing barrages were accompanied by barbs from the two countries’ presidents, suggesting little prospect of peace talks.

The Russian Ministry of Defence said on Telegram that 104 drones were involved in raids across western Russia, many targeting power and oil facilities.

Local officials claimed that air defence systems had destroyed one drone that had attempted to strike the nuclear power plant in the western region of Smolensk.

“According to preliminary information, one of the drones was shot down during an attempt to attack a nuclear power facility,” Governor Vasily Anokhin said on the Telegram messaging app. “There were no casualties or damage.”

The Smolensk Nuclear Power Plant, the largest power generating plant in Russia’s northwest, was working normally on Wednesday morning, RIA state news agency reported.

Petrochemicals giant Sibur reported a fire at its oil refinery in the Nizhny Novgorod region about 800km from the Ukrainian border.

Ukraine’s military said on Wednesday that Russia launched an overnight drone attack of its own, resulting in air alerts in multiple regions.

A port in the Odesa region was also reportedly targeted, while debris from a destroyed drone fell near a metro station in the capital, Kyiv, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.