Ukraine says Russia strikes power grid as more ground regained

Ukraine has announced fresh gains in its counter-offensive, including the recapture of the strategic city of Izyum in the country's east, where Kiev accused Russia of carrying out reprisal strikes against electricity infrastructure.

Throughout the weekend Ukraine claimed new military successes against Russia's army in the east and south, the latest coming Sunday night when President Volodymyr Zelensky declared Izyum "liberated".

Moscow conceded having lost territory, and experts have said the confirmed recapture by Ukraine of the city would represent a serious blow to Moscow's military ambitions in east Ukraine.

Sunday evening the eastern region experienced widespread electricity blackouts, which Zelensky said deliberately hit civilian infrastructure. He blamed "Russian terrorists".

"A total blackout in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, a partial one in the Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions," Zelensky said in a statement on social media.

"No military facilities," he added. "The goal is to deprive people of light and heat."

Local Ukrainian authorities pointed to Russian strikes on their power infrastructure. Some districts reported later that power had been restored.

In Kharkiv region, a Russian strike on a power station killed one employee, Governor Oleg Synegubov said. He added that power had been partially brought back.

Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said the Russian attacks were an "act of desperation following Russia's immense losses and retreat in eastern Ukraine".

The Russian strikes hit 15 locations on Sunday, from Kramatorsk in the east to Mykolaiv in the south and Dnipro in between, Ukraine's military said.

Earlier, the bombardment of Pokrovsk, a city in...