November 19, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

By Adrienne Vogt

Updated 2109 GMT (0509 HKT) November 19, 2022
3 Posts
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8:03 a.m. ET, November 19, 2022

Nikopol district in southern Ukraine hit by Russian shells overnight, official says

From Kostan Nechyporenko from Kyiv

Russian shelling hit the southern Ukrainian Nikopol district overnight Friday into Saturday, according to the head of the Nikopol district military administration. 

“About sixty shells and rocket munitions fell on peaceful settlements,” Yevhen Yevtushenko said in a Telegram post on Saturday.

Although residential buildings and cars were damaged, no one was reported injured in the shelling, Yevtushenko added. 

Experts are currently surveying the sites of attacks in the Marhanets and Myrove communities and the city of Nikopol, the official said.  

The Nikopol district is located in the Dnipropetrovsk region and sits across the river from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. 

8:05 a.m. ET, November 19, 2022

Zelensky says energy supply issues persist after Russian strikes

From CNN's Jennifer Hauser

A historic district in Kyiv experiences a blackout after a Russian missile attack on Ukrainian power infrastructure on November 11.
A historic district in Kyiv experiences a blackout after a Russian missile attack on Ukrainian power infrastructure on November 11. (Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto/Getty Images)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says energy supply issues persist in the capital and 17 other regions Friday, even after utility officials indicated that power access had been restored across the country.

Speaking in his nightly address, Zelensky said it's still difficult to get enough electricity to "Kyiv region and Kyiv. It’s very difficult in the Odesa region, and also the Vinnytsia region and Ternopil region." 

The director of Ukraine's Energy Industry Research Center said earlier Friday that power had been restored nearly everywhere in the country, after 10 million customers lost service due to missile attacks Thursday.

Even when utilities repair infrastructure in Ukraine and customers regain access, operators have had to widely impose emergency cuts to deal with the country's diminished supply. That means regions only receive a limited amount of energy and are sometimes subject to intentional blackouts aimed at stabilizing and maintaining the fragile grid.

Fighting in the east: In his update, Zelensky also reported "fierce fighting" in the eastern Donetsk region. He claimed that about 100 Russian attacks were repelled in the region on Thursday alone.

Donetsk, which is one of four Ukrainian regions Moscow claims to have annexed, has been subject to some of the conflict's fiercest fighting.

8:06 a.m. ET, November 19, 2022

First train leaves Kyiv for liberated Kherson after 8 months of occupation

From CNN's Dennis Lapin in Kyiv

A passenger train to Kherson departs from Kyiv train station on Thursday.
A passenger train to Kherson departs from Kyiv train station on Thursday. (Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

The first train from Kyiv to the recently liberated city of Kherson left Friday.

"This is our train of victory!" Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said on Telegram.

There were about 200 passengers on board.

"Like this train, we will return to Kherson everything for normal life!" Tymoshenko wrote.

Some context: Kherson residents lived under Russian occupation for eight months, but last week, Ukrainian forces swept into the city as Moscow's troops retreated east.

The return of the city, which was the only regional capital held by the Kremlin's forces, brought scenes of jubilation in the streets, where locals sang, waved flags and embraced Ukrainian soldiers.

Much work remains to restore basic services to the city and the region surrounding it, however, and Ukrainian officials are now investigating the brutality and torture suffered by detainees in the city.