Fresh Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian and infrastructure targets overnight killed two people and caused serious damage to Ukraine's already battered energy infrastructure, regional officials and the military said on May 9.
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Russian shelling killed a 62-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman in the southern city of Nikopol, wounding another two and causing damage to houses and roads, Dnipropetrovsk regional chief Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram.
Russia has been frequently shelling Nikopol and other Ukrainian cities from across the Dnieper River, and starting from October 2022, it has systematically attacked Ukraine's energy infrastructure, causing serious damage and electricity shortages for civilian and industrial users.
Ukraine's Ukrhydroenerho operator said on May 9 that two hydropower plants have been severely damaged by Russian attacks and were taken out of operation, without naming the two units.
Before the war, Ukraine's 10 hydropower plants produced some 10 percent of its electricity. Russia last year blew up the gigantic Kakhovka hydropower plant. Currently, only seven hydropower plants are still in operation and have a largely diminished capacity.
"To date, all hydropower generating capacity has suffered devastating damage. Destroyed equipment requires considerable efforts to repair, restore and significant financial resources. Today, the support, help, and decisive action of the international community are more important than ever," Ukrhydroenerho said in a statement on Telegram.
The Energy Ministry said it plans to double electricity imports on May 9 to make up for the losses caused by the latest wave of Russian attacks on its infrastructure.
The imports are expected to rise to 16,699 megawatt hours compared to 7,600 on May 8, the Ministry said.
Ukraine's air force, meanwhile, said that Russia had launched 20 drones at targets in the southern region of Odesa, and 17 of those drones had been shot down by its air defense systems.
Separately, an informed source who spoke on condition of anonymity told RFE/RL on May 9 that Ukrainian drones struck two oil depots in the village of Yurivka near the city of Anapa in Russia's Krasnodar region.
The claim could not be independently verified immediately.
Hours later, an informed security source, also speaking to RFE/RL on condition of anonymity on May 9, said that a Ukrainian attack drone had struck a Russian oil refining plant in the Russian region of Bashkortostan after flying a "record" distance of 1,500 kilometers in an operation conducted by the SBU security service.
The claim also could not be verified independently.
In Kyiv, Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, voted on May 9 to dismiss Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskiy and the deputy prime minister for reconstruction, Oleksandr Kubrakov.
Last month, Solskiy was released on bail after being taken into custody over accusations that he had illegally acquired land worth about 291 million hryvnias ($7 million).
He had subsequently tendered his resignation. Kubrakov leaves as the government looks to break apart his ministry, which currently oversees wartime reconstruction efforts amid Russia's full-scale invasion.