KYIV, Ukraine, Aug 27, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Russian strikes across Ukraine on Wednesday killed three people and left thousands more than 100,000 households without power, Kyiv said.

"Russians attacked energy and gas transport infrastructure facilities in six regions," the Ukrainian energy ministry said in a statement.

It called the attack a "deliberate policy of destroying Ukraine's civilian infrastructure on the eve of the heating season," hampering the heating supply system ahead of colder autumn days.

A farm in the southern Kherson region was damaged as a result of heavy shelling, killing two employees there, and an 81-year-old woman died in an overnight attack on the regional capital, local officials said.

And more than 100,000 houses were cut-off from electricity in the Poltava, Sumy and Chernigiv regions, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

He called for the United States to take a firm stance against Moscow's ongoing attacks, as peace efforts stutter.

"The Russians continue the war and ignore the world's calls to stop the killings and destruction. New steps are needed to increase pressure on Russia to stop the attacks and to ensure real security guarantees," he said on social media.

Russia, which now occupies around one-fifth of Ukraine, has advanced in recent months in a grinding campaign against Kyiv's smaller, outgunned army.

Moscow claimed Wednesday to have captured another settlement in the Donetsk region, which Moscow is fighting to seize in its entirety.

As part of any deal to end the war, Kyiv is trying to map out Western-backed security guarantees that would prevent Moscow from attacking again in the future.

Tens of thousands have been killed in the conflict, which has devastated swathes of the country and forced millions to flee their homes since Russia invaded in February 2022.