Russia says Ukraine 'multiplying' energy attacks despite US-brokered moratorium

Moscow: Russia's defence ministry said on Saturday Ukraine had increased its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, hitting targets 14 times in the last 24 hours, despite a US-brokered moratorium.

In a statement published on Telegram, the ministry said Ukraine "multiplied the number of unilateral attacks using drones and artillery shells on the energy infrastructure of Russian regions".

It said the strikes had caused damage in Russia's Bryansk, Belgorod, Smolensk, Lipetsk and Voronezh regions, as well as the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Kherson, parts of which Russia controls.

Reuters was unable to verify the reports of the strikes.

Kyiv issued no official comment on the Russian statement, but Ukraine's military has said it halted strikes on Russian energy facilities on March 18.

Russia and Ukraine agreed last month to a US proposal for a 30-day moratorium on striking each other's energy infrastructure. Both sides have since repeatedly accused each other of violating the deal.

The deal was part of a wider diplomatic push by US President Donald Trump since his return to office in January to end the conflict.

Separately on Saturday, the governor of Russia's Volga river region of Mordovia said Ukrainian drones had struck an industrial facility. Media reports said it was an optical fibre factory in the region's capital, Saransk.

On Friday, a Russian strike on the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih killed at least 19 people, including nine children, local officials said.

Russia's Defence Ministry said it targeted a military gathering in the city, a statement the Ukrainian military denounced as disinformation.