Russia Strikes Kharkiv, Cuts Power, Hits Railway Yard; Heavy Fighting In Kherson

Investigators inspect a crater left by a Russian missile strike on an electrical transformer facility in Kharkiv.

Russian missile strikes in Ukraine's second city Kharkiv hit a railway yard overnight and knocked out power to more than 18,000 households, officials said on September 28.

Kharkiv governor Oleh Synyehubov said Russian forces had fired S-300 missiles, designed as an anti-aircraft weapon but now often re-purposed to hit civilian infrastructure in Ukrainian cities.

The Kharkiv regional emergency service said the blasts destroyed an electrical transformer and hit a workshop.

No casualties were reported, but the regional electricity company said 18,500 customers in the Shevchenkivsky, Kholodnogirsky, and Novobavarsky districts of the city had lost electricity.

The strike came exactly a week after a similar attack that hit a nearby rail freight yard as well as residential blocks.

Heavy fighting also continues in the Kherson region, Britain's Ministry of Defense said in its daily intelligence bulletin on September 28.

The ministry said the Russian military force in the area, located on the right bank of the Dnipro River, remains vulnerable to Ukrainian attacks.

British intelligence also said that Russia is using its forces to continue its "grinding" attempts to advance near Bakhmut in the Donbas despite facing severe pressure on its northern and southern flanks.

The latest fighting came as U.S. officials said Washington was preparing a new $1.1 billion weapons package for Ukraine that will be announced soon.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters