Ukrainian forces withdrew from Siversk after heavy fighting while Russian strikes killed three civilians and left thousands without power in freezing conditions. The Chernobyl plant director warned another strike could collapse an internal radiation shelter, potentially taking years to repair. Russia reported limited gains in eastern regions and launched strikes against military and energy sites, while US-mediated talks in Miami showed no immediate breakthrough.
Ukraine Withdraws From Siversk as Russian Strikes Kill Civilians and Knock Out Power
Russian strikes on Ukraine have forced power cuts across the country in another winter of war (Oleksandr GIMANOV)(Oleksandr GIMANOV/AFP/AFP)
Ukrainian forces said on Tuesday they withdrew from the embattled eastern town of Siversk after intense fighting, while sustained Russian strikes killed three civilians and cut electricity to thousands amid bitter winter conditions.
Siversk Withdrawal
Kyiv confirmed the tactical pullback from Siversk in Donetsk — a position on the approach to two remaining Ukrainian-held strongholds — saying the move was necessary "to preserve the lives of our soldiers and the combat capability of our units." Moscow had earlier announced it had captured Siversk nearly two weeks ago. Fighting, the military added, continued on the town's outskirts.
Chernobyl Shelter At Risk
The director of the defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant, Sergiy Tarakanov, warned in an interview that further Russian strikes could cause the inner radiation shelter to collapse. He said fully restoring the structure could take three to four years and that a direct hit or a nearby impact from a heavy missile such as an Iskander could trigger a damaging "mini-earthquake" in the area.
Sergiy Tarakanov: "No one can guarantee that the shelter facility will remain standing after that. That is the main threat."
Civilian Toll and Energy Damage
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the pre-Christmas attacks underscored that the Kremlin intends to continue the invasion launched in February 2022. The strikes killed three civilians, including a four-year-old in Zhytomyr, and prompted emergency power cuts across several regions as repair crews raced to restore damaged energy infrastructure amid freezing temperatures.
There were also fatalities reported in the Kyiv and Khmelnytskyi regions. In Russia's Belgorod border region, local authorities said Ukrainian drone strikes killed one person and wounded three, including a teenage boy.
Military Movements and Strikes
Moscow's military reported gains in parts of the east, saying its forces captured settlements in the Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions as a grinding advance accelerated in recent weeks. Russia also said it launched large-scale strikes using long-range drones and hypersonic missiles targeting military and energy sites. The Black Sea port region of Odesa was hit again, disrupting daily life and services.
Olena Dolhachova, a 40-year-old maths teacher in Odesa, told AFP she had to rely on candles to teach after repeated outages: "There are attacks every week. Just when power is restored, all our schedules are disrupted again. It is very difficult."
Diplomatic Efforts
The attacks came shortly after US-mediated talks in Miami, where negotiators discussed a Washington-proposed plan to end the war. Both sides reported only "slow progress," and there was no sign of an imminent diplomatic breakthrough.
Situation Outlook: Ukrainian forces describe the Siversk withdrawal as tactical to preserve troops, while civilian infrastructure and nuclear safety remain urgent international concerns amid ongoing military pressure and stalled negotiations.
