March 9, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has once again been “completely disconnected” from Ukraine’s power grid due to Russian shelling, state energy company Energoatom said on Telegram Thursday.

The plant sits in the Russian-occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region and is the largest in Europe. It has been held by Russian forces for some 12 months but is operated by its Ukrainian staff.

The facility's latest disconnection from the power grid Thursday comes as officials across Ukraine reported Russian missile attacks targeting energy infrastructure.

"In addition, all domestic nuclear power plants located on the territory controlled by Ukraine have discharged their power due to the threat of missile attacks,” the Energoatom statement said.

An explosion in western Kyiv injured at least two people, the capital's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram Thursday. 

Earlier, Klitschko reported that a series of explosions had hit the Holosiivskyi district in southwestern Kyiv and that roughly 15% of the city was without electricity due to an emergency cut to the power supply. 

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that the victims' injuries were fatal. Their condition remains unknown.

About 15% of Kyiv is without electricity due to an emergency cut to the power supply following a Russian missile attack Thursday, the capital's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. 

Earlier, Klitschko reported that a series of explosions had hit the Holosiivskyi district in southwestern Kyiv. 

Explosions were heard in southwestern Kyiv on Thursday, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on his official Telegram account. 

Russia targeted energy infrastructure with missile strikes in several parts of Ukraine early on Thursday, according to Ukrainian officials.

In the southern Odesa region, missile strikes were reported on energy facilities and homes.

Maxim Marchenko, head of the Odesa regional military administration, said no casualties were reported.

Northwest of Odesa, missiles also struck the Khmelnytskyi region. 

"Remain in your shelters! The enemy is striking the country's critical infrastructure. Take care of yourself and your loved ones!" Serhiy Hamaliy, head of the Khmelnytskyi regional military administration, said in a Telegram post.

In northeastern Kharkiv meanwhile, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said there was a series of explosions.

"I don't have details yet, but I ask that everyone be careful," he said on Telegram. "Our energy infrastructure is in the crosshairs. We are having problems with electricity in some parts of Kharkiv. But we will survive and everything will be repaired."

Oleh Syniehubov, head of Kharkiv's military administration, wrote there were at least 15 strikes. "There is a threat of repeat strikes! Stay in your shelters!" he wrote.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky can’t currently envisage a situation in which he would meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Personal life: The Ukrainian leader also spoke about how he and his family are dealing with the war, which is now in its second year.

“My daughter joined the university and she studies there, and my son is attending school in Ukraine,” he said. “They're both in Ukraine. They're very much like other Ukrainian kids. We live with sirens.”

“We want victory. We don't want to get used to war, but we got used to the challenges. Everyone wants one thing — to end the war,” he said. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN's Wolf Blitzer he is "very grateful" for US President Joe Biden's visit to Ukraine last month. 

“It's an important signal to the whole world that the US is supporting us. And I think that US believe that we will prevail,” Zelensky said.

But on the question of whether the US will send Ukraine F-16 fighter jets to help the battle for control in the skies, Zelensky said, “The fighter jets issue is difficult. We're waiting for this decision to be taken.”

Asked if the supply of Western jets will “make or break” a Ukrainian success in the war, Zelensky said: “Yes, we believe so.”

Recalling a discussion with Biden over jets, Zelensky said Biden and his aides felt jets “were not needed” at the moment.

"And I said, 'No, we need those jets,'" Zelensky said.

“What fighter jets could do, they could help us to defend ourselves,” Zelensky said. “That's why we need it urgently."

More on Ukrainian pilots: The US is working with Ukrainian pilots in the United States to determine how long it would take to train them to fly F-16 fighter jets, three sources briefed on the matter told CNN.

Two Ukrainian pilots are currently at a military base in the US having their skills tested in flight simulators to see how much time they would need to learn to fly various US military aircraft, including F-16s.

A US military official added that “there are no updates to provide regarding F-16s to Ukraine” and there are no immediate plans to increase the number of Ukrainian pilots in the US.

One of Ukraine’s top military commanders visited the city of Bakhmut for the third time in less than a week, a video posted on his official Telegram account on Wednesday showed. 

Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine's second highest-ranked general, said his men were doing everything they could to ensure Russian forces made the wrong move, referencing a chess strategy. 

Ukrainian forces were holding their ground, he added. Other military leaders have said it is a priority for Ukraine to continue defending Bakhmut, where fighting has intensified.

CNN could not independently verify where the video was recorded but metadata on the file suggested it was recorded Wednesday.

Syrskyi organized and led the defense of Kyiv, successfully driving back Russian forces that had nearly encircled the Ukrainian capital at the beginning of Russia’s invasion. He has paid regular visits to frontline units in the Donbas and elsewhere, including Bakhmut. His previous visit to the city was at the end of last week.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is inviting House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to visit Ukraine to see the situation on the ground first hand — an invitation that comes as the Republican Party faces a divide over whether the United States should continue to provide aid to the country under attack from Russia.

But when told of the invitation on Tuesday, McCarthy told CNN’s Manu Raju that he does not plan to visit Ukraine, and argued that President Joe Biden has not acted quickly enough to aid the country. McCarthy, a California Republican, has said he supports Ukraine but does not support “a blank check,” a position he repeated on Tuesday — even though there is federal oversight of all the dollars that are spent there.

Read more here.