Russian drones attack Ukraine energy sector: officials

Russia has unleashed a new barrage of drones and missiles on Ukraine, again targeting the energy sector and killing at least one civilian, Ukrainian officials say.

Ukraine's military said Russian forces had fired 78 attack drones and six missiles over various regions during the hours-long attack.

Air defences destroyed 66 drones and four missiles, it added.

"This night the enemy carried out another massive attack on the Ukrainian energy sector, using drones and missiles," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said, adding that three electricity transmission facilities, including one in the southern Mykolaiv region, were among the targets.

Later in the morning, the air force said it had recorded the launch of several hypersonic Kinzhal missiles targeting the small western Ukrainian city of Starokostiantyniv, home to an important air base and a frequent target of Moscow's strikes.

The air force provided no further details.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Joe Biden
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has told US President Joe Biden Ukraine must join the NATO alliance.

One woman was killed in a missile strike on Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa, and 10 people were wounded in a guided-bomb attack on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, officials said.

About a dozen drones were destroyed over the capital Kyiv while power outages were reported in the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk, in the central region of Poltava and in Chernihiv in northern Ukraine, regional officials said.

Russian forces attacked Ukrainian facilities supplying electricity to the weapon production industry, the TASS news agency quoted Russia's defence ministry as saying on Thursday.

Russia denies targeting civilians in Ukraine but says the country's energy infrastructure is a legitimate military target.

Its attacks since March have knocked out about half of Ukraine's available power generation capacity, resulting in lengthy blackouts for millions across the whole country.

Ukraine is at a crucial juncture in the 31-month war as Russian forces steadily capture more territory in the eastern Donetsk region.

US President Joe Biden announced more than $US8 billion ($A12 billion) in military assistance for Ukraine on Thursday, using a visit by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to make a major commitment.

The aid includes the first shipment of a precision-guided glide bomb called the Joint Standoff Weapon, with a range of up to 130km.

The medium-range missile gives Ukraine a major upgrade to the weapons it is using to strike Russian forces, allowing the Ukrainians to do it at safer distances.

The bomb, capable of striking targets with high accuracy, is to be dropped from fighter jets.

"We’re making clear that we stand with Ukraine now and in the future," Biden told reporters ahead of a bilateral meeting with Zelenskiy in the Oval Office.

He said the US would continue to help Ukraine strengthen its position on the battlefield, and that he had directed the Pentagon to allocate all remaining security funding by the end of his term in January.

Zelenskiy thanked Biden for his support and said it was important to secure Ukraine's future in the European Union and the NATO military alliance.

Zelenskiy has long sought NATO membership but the allies have stopped short of taking that step.

The bulk of the new aid, $US5.5 billion, is to be allocated before Monday's end of the US fiscal year, when the funding authority is set to expire.

Another $US2.4 billion is under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which allows the administration to buy weapons for Ukraine from companies rather than pull them from US stocks.

This will provide Ukraine with additional air defence, unmanned aerial systems and air-to-ground munitions as well as strengthen Ukraine's defence industrial base and support its maintenance and sustainment requirements, Biden said.

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