Russia targets Kyiv power supply as freezing winter approaches

Russia hit Ukrainian energy infrastructure in a wave of deadly drone and missile strikes on Wednesday, prompting an urgent call for contingencies as freezing winter approaches.

Kyiv said it was the opening attack in Russia's inevitable campaign to try to knock out heating and electricity supplies in the capital ahead of winter -- a tactic Moscow has deployed throughout the four-and-a-half-year war.

At least four people were killed in and around Kyiv, including a young child found under the rubble of a demolished residential building, after another night of continuous air raid red alerts and repeated blasts.

Sirens screamed across the city warning people to take cover in basement shelters and metro stations from ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as high-speed attack drones in the skies above.

In Moscow, Russia's defence ministry said it had conducted "a massive missile and drone strike" on Kyiv and the surrounding region that targeted the power infrastructure.

Ukraine's main energy provider DTEK confirmed that the grid was damaged and supplies were affected to 8,000 households. Engineers got the power back on, it said, but called it "another difficult night for the capital".

Ensuring energy supply in Ukraine is critical as months of bitter cold approach.

Russian strikes on the sector last year cut light and heating as temperatures plunged to as low as -20C.

The prospect of a repeat has left many in the city considering whether to stay, and calls for the vulnerable and disabled to relocate.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said water supplies had also been cut and "critical infrastructure" was also hit in attacks across the country.

Prime Minister Sergiy Koretsky indicated that the attacks were the start of a new Russian winter campaign against the energy sector.