March 9, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said six people were killed in a wave of Russian missile strikes across Ukraine on Thursday. Earlier, regional authorities said 11 people were killed in the Russian attacks, which included those who died in shellings and other kinds of attacks.

While energy has been restored to most of the country, Russian forces are keeping up their assaults near the invasion's eastern front, especially around the strategic city of Bakhmut.

Here are the headlines to know:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said work to restore power to parts of the country hit by a wave of Russian strikes Thursday is still underway, but efforts will continue "for as long as necessary."

The president said the situation in Kharkiv and the Zhytomyr region has been the most difficult.

“Another attempt by the terrorist state to wage war against civilization has led to temporary power, heat and water outages in some of our regions and cities,” Zelensky said.

Critically, power has already been restored to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The plant is under Russian control, but it is being operated mostly by Ukrainians. It was running on emergency mode after the shelling, according to the national energy company.

Nearly a dozen people were killed in the attacks, officials said. Zelensky expressed condolences to those families.

Ukraine's air defense systems didn't withstand some of Russia's Kinzhal missiles, according to an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, following a widespread attack from Moscow on Thursday.

A total of 84 missiles were fired on Ukrainian infrastructure, including six Kinzhal ballistic missiles that have the ability to elude Kyiv’s air defenses, the Ukrainian military said.

"They are using hypersonic missiles. They are using new types of weapons, and they are seeing how our air defense systems can cope with it," said Alexander Rodnyansky, an economic adviser to Zelensky. "They are not coping well enough."

Rodnyansky outlined what he saw as the Kremlin's tactical, economic and political objectives for Thursday's strikes, including what he described as "economic terrorism." 

"They're sending a very strong signal to everyone in Ukraine — and to perhaps some of our refugees outside of Ukraine — that life is very far from returning to normal despite the fact that over recent weeks there was more quiet," he said.

This could cause refugees to stay away and businesses to withhold investing in the country, Rodnyansky said.

What else to know: Russia used the Kinzhal missile, which it has described as a hypersonic weapon, on a few occasions in the first weeks of its invasion last year. But the powerful weapon has rarely been seen over the country's skies.

Its first known use was last March, and then again in May, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday signed a law introducing the death penalty for “state treason” committed by government and military officials, state news agency Belta reported. 

Additionally, the law introduces criminal liability for “propaganda” of terrorism, discrediting of the country’s armed forces, other troops and military formations, paramilitary organizations, and violation of requirements for the protection of state secrets.

Belarus’ parliament last year passed a bill that would impose the death penalty for “high treason, in order to prevent” possible actions by “destructive elements” in the country, which Lukashenko signed into law on Thursday.

Human rights group Amnesty last year called the law the "latest display of Belarusian authorities’ profound disregard for human rights.”

Belarus' role in the Ukraine war: Lukashenko, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said in February that “there is no way we are going to send our troops to Ukraine unless you are going to commit aggression against Belarus.”

“But don’t forget Russia is our ally — legally, morally and politically,” he added.

Lukashenko's government has claimed on numerous occasions that Ukrainian drones and missiles have entered its territory, sometimes without providing evidence.

Belarus helped Russia launch its initial invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, allowing the Kremlin’s troops to enter the country through the Ukrainian-Belarusian border north of Kyiv.

Engineers have restored electricity supply in most regions where energy facilities were damaged by Thursday's massive Russian bombardment, Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said in a statement. 

Halushchenko said Russia used a new tactic in its latest large-scale assault, launching different types of missiles and drones at the same time.

Earlier Thursday, the mayor of Kyiv said utility crews had fully restored power in the Ukrainian capital, but about a third of the city's homes were still without heat.

Halushchenko said this was Russia's 15th massive shelling of Ukraine's battered energy system.

This wave of strikes forced the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to switch to backup power from diesel generators.

"The whole world sees that Russians do not care about any risks of a possible nuclear accident. And today, thanks to the fact that Ukraine has always supported the plant's safety systems, all diesel generators that provide backup power to ZNPP have been used. Currently, the power supply to the plant, which has been provided by Ukraine for more than a year of occupation of ZNPP, has been restored," he said. 

Facing Russia's regular attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities, the country's power engineers have developed a number of mechanisms that help them restore service quickly despite the extreme conditions, the minister said. 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the latest Russian missile barrage on Ukraine during a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In a tweet, von der Leyen said "Russia’s deliberate targeting of civilians and energy grid is a war crime."

Zelensky said that during the call, "we welcomed the new package of EU sanctions and agreed on further pressure on the aggressor. We also discussed in detail Ukraine's progress in implementing the recommendations of the European Commission to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession this year."

Russia launched one of its biggest aerial assaults of the year on Thursday, with 84 missiles targeted at Ukrainian infrastructure across the country. 

This included six Kinzhal ballistic missiles that eluded Kyiv's air defenses, the Ukrainian military said. At least 11 people were killed.

The 2024 fiscal year budget presented by US President Joe Biden's administration requests $63.1 billion for the State Department and the US Agency for International Development, including specific funding for the war in Ukraine and countering China – a nearly $5 billion increase from the fiscal year 2023 adjusted enacted budget.

The request includes $1.7 billion “that will help Ukraine win the war and lay the reform and recovery foundation for winning the peace and help other partners impacted by the war stabilize their economies and prepare for recovery,” according to a State Department fact sheet.

In addition, the new budget requests a $1.5 million increase to funding for the Global Engagement Center, which would support programs countering propaganda and disinformation by Russia.

It also seeks $8.9 million “to support a priority U.S. strategic objective of increasing NATO common funding starting in 2023 as agreed to by the North Atlantic Council in December 2022.”

The Biden administration also requested $842 billion for the Defense Department, including $753 million for Ukraine to counter Russian influence and to help Kyiv with its security, energy and cybersecurity needs.

With the war in Ukraine in its second year, the latest budget requests $6 billion to support Ukraine, NATO and other European partners.

CNN's Oren Liebermann contributed reporting to this post.

The Ukrainian military shared updates Thursday from multiple fronts in its defense against Russia's invasion.

The battle for Bakhmut: Russian forces are still working to encircle the eastern city of Bakhmut, "with further access to the administrative borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions," the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said.

The military said it "repelled numerous attacks" surrounding the city, saying more than half a dozen villages northwest, west and southwest of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region have recently taken enemy fire.

Elsewhere on the eastern front: North of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, Russian forces are trying to break through Ukraine's defenses in Kupyansk and Lyman, according to the General Staff.

South of Bakhmut, Russian forces conducted unsuccessful offensives on several towns near the eastern cities of Avdiivka and Shakhtarsk, Ukraine's military said.

In southern Ukraine: Russian forces are on the defensive in the southern regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, according to Ukraine.

The General Staff claimed that in some Russian-occupied settlements of Kherson, "Russian invaders have intensified looting," using ammunition delivery trucks to smuggle out household appliances and other property.

CNN is unable to verify Ukraine's claim.

Ukrainian strikes: Over the last 24 hours, Ukrainian forces have carried out seven strikes on areas where Russian personnel and military equipment are gathered.

Missile troops and artillery units hit a Russian command post, six areas where Moscow's troops were concentrated, two logistics centers, three ammunition depots, an electronic warfare station and an anti-aircraft missile system, the General Staff said. 

US President Joe Biden informally dropped by a meeting between national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö on Thursday, according to the White House. 

Biden, the White House said, “reiterated strong US support for the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO as soon as possible. The leaders also discussed their continued commitment to supporting Ukraine in the face of Russia’s aggression.”

Latest on Finland and NATO: Last year, the Nordic country ditched decades of neutrality and announced it would seek to join NATO, attempting to strengthen its security following the onset of the war in Ukraine. 

But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan objects to Sweden and Finland’s membership on what he claims are security grounds, and Hungary has also failed to ratify the accession of both Finland and Sweden.

NATO diplomats are split on whether they think Turkey will budge before the July 11 alliance summit. 

CNN's Luke McGee contributed reporting to this post.