KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) 鈥� Russian shelling cut off power in much of the recently liberated Ukrainian city of Kherson on Thursday, just days after it was restored amid to destroy key civilian infrastructure as freezing weather sets in.
In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko warned the capital's millions of residents that they should stock up on water and preserved food to see them that could prove miserable if more energy infrastructure is damaged.
He also urged people to consider leaving the city to stay with friends or family elsewhere, if possible.
鈥淭rying months lie ahead. The enemy still possesses substantial resources,鈥� Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said. He added, however, that "signs are accumulating that (Russia) needs a pause at all costs.鈥�
a blistering onslaught of Russian artillery fire and drone attacks since early October. The shelling has been especially intense in Kherson since Russian forces withdrew and Ukraine's army reclaimed the southern city almost three weeks ago.
Ukraine鈥檚 presidential office said Thursday that at least two civilians were killed and six others wounded nationwide by the latest Russian shelling. In Kherson, a 70-year-old woman was killed in her apartment and a 64-year-old man was wounded on the street. A 15-year-old boy died when a hospital in the northeastern Sumy region town of Bilopillia was hit, the presidential office said.
Local authorities said about two-thirds of Kherson had electricity as of Thursday night. Some residents congregated at the train station or at government-supported tents that provided heating, food, drinks and electricity to charge cellphones.
Walking gingerly toward an evacuation train, 79-year-old Liudmyla Biloshysta said she decided to leave and join her children in Kyiv because she feared conditions in Kherson would worsen.
鈥淭he strike was so massive our house even began to shake,鈥� Biloshysta said of the latest barrage. 鈥淭hese bombardments make me so scared.鈥�
Alluding to her birth during World War II, she said 鈥淚 was a child of war and now I'm a granny in wartime.鈥�
In the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, Russian forces fired 鈥渇rom evening till morning鈥� at Ukrainian-held towns facing the Russian occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant across the Dnieper River, the regional governor said Thursday.
鈥淓ight shelling attacks per night. The Russians from evening till morning struck the Nikopol area with (multiple rocket launchers) and heavy artillery. Two districts -- Marhanets and Chervonohryhorivka -- came under enemy fire,鈥� governor Valentyn Reznichenko wrote on Telegram.
Elsewhere in eastern Ukraine, Russian forces continued their attempts to encircle the Donetsk region city of Bakhmut, focusing on several villages around it and trying to cut a key highway.
Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine鈥檚 presidential office, said Russia released 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war and Ukraine turned over the same number Thursday as the fighting continued.
In Berlin, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg praised the 鈥渉eroic resistance of the Ukrainian people鈥� against Russia鈥檚 attacks, saying that with the help of allies 鈥淯kraine has made significant gains鈥� on the battlefield.
鈥淏ut we should not underestimate Russia,鈥� Stoltenberg warned in a speech at the Berlin Security Conference. 鈥淩ussian missiles and drones continue to rain down on Ukrainian cities, civilians and critical infrastructure, causing enormous human suffering as winter sets in.鈥�
The NATO chief said Russian President Vladimir Putin had made 鈥渢wo big strategic mistakes鈥� when he invaded Ukraine in February: underestimating Ukraine and underestimating the support NATO and its allies were willing to provide so the country could defense itself.
In a related development, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday strongly condemned a European Union proposal, issued the previous day, to set up a U.N.-backed court to investigate possible Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
鈥淎s for attempts to establish some kind of tribunals, they will not have any legitimacy and will not be accepted by us. They will be condemned by us,鈥� Peskov said during a media briefing.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a video message Wednesday that the EU would work with international partners to get 鈥渢he broadest international support possible鈥� for the proposed war crimes court while continuing to support the International Criminal Court.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine are among the ICC鈥檚 123 member states.
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Jamey Keaten in Kyiv, Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, and Joanna Kozlowska in London contributed reporting.
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