Ukrainian forces have repelled more Russian military attacks in the east as Moscow pounded civilian settlements in central and southern Ukraine, targeting energy infrastructure, the military and regional officials said as millions of people faced power and heating shortages at the onset of winter.
Five people were killed In the eastern Donetsk region in shelling over the past day, Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote on Telegram on November 30.
In the central Zaporizhzhya region, Russian rockets hit a gas distribution point, according to regional Governor Oleksandr Starukh.
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"In one of the settlements of the Zaporizhzhya district, a gas distribution point was damaged as a result of a missile, resulting in a fire. It was quickly liquidated, but three streets remained without gas," Starukh wrote on Telegram.
No one was injured in the attack, he wrote.
Russia has launched numerous waves of attacks on Ukraine's electricity and heating infrastructure since October, an act that Kyiv and its allies say is a deliberate campaign to harm civilians and amounts to a war crime.
In Kyiv and its surroundings, millions of people struggled to heat their homes amid dropping temperatures and snowing.
A power company official wrote on Facebook that 985,500 people in Kyiv were without power, and another electricity provider said the city would have emergency power cuts on November 30.
A glimmer of hope was offered early on November 30 by Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, who said the stability of electricity supply was "improving every day" as technicians work around the clock to repair the damage. But Halushchenko warned that further attacks could cause additional damage.
On the front line, the Ukrainian General Staff said on November 30 its forces had repelled six Russian attacks in the past 24 hours in Donetsk and the adjacent Luhansk region.
The military said Russian troops continue to attack in the Bakhmut and Avdiyivka directions employing tank and artillery fire. Russian air strikes were carried out near Avdiyivka, it added.
Meanwhile, Russian forces relentlessly shelled the right bank of the Dnieper River and Kherson city further south.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address that Ukrainians were defending against attempted Russian advances in multiple regions, as NATO allies promised more arms for Ukraine and equipment to help restore power supplies cut by Russian strikes.
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev warned NATO against providing Ukraine with Patriot missile-defense systems, calling the 30-member alliance a "criminal entity" for delivering arms to what he called "Ukrainian fanatics."
WATCH: Ukrainian artillery crews make regular use of the Western-supplied M777 howitzer and say it has had a major impact against Russian forces.
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Ukrainian Troops Say M777 Howitzers Change The Course Of Battle In Donetsk Region
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, speaking in Romania, where foreign ministers from the alliance are holding a two-day gathering, said Russian President Vladimir Putin was "trying to use winter as a weapon of war" as Moscow's forces lose ground on the battlefield.
U.S. and European officials said NATO ministers would focus on providing nonlethal aid such as fuel, medical supplies, and winter equipment, as well as on military assistance, while Washington said it would provide $53 million to buy power-grid equipment.
U.S. President Joe Biden said providing more military aid for Kyiv was a priority, but Republicans, who take control of the House of Representatives in January, have talked about pausing the funding, which has surpassed $18 billion.