TOP HEADLINES

· A Ukrainian rocket killed at least four people and wounded 13 in the Russian-controlled city of Kherson late on Thursday, with Moscow-appointed officials accusing Kyiv of using U.S.-supplied HIMARS missiles to attack people evacuating the city. Moscow says around 15,000 people have already been relocated from the region, where heavy fighting is escalating. 

· A series of blasts hit the Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia early on Friday morning. Local politicians said Russian missiles hit an industrial facility in Kharkiv, where five people are reported to have been wounded.

· Kyiv has accused Russia of planning to destroy a hydroelectric dam in the eastern Kherson region, in what President Volodymyr Zelenkskyy told European leaders would amount to a "catastrophe on a grand scale," with hundreds of thousands at risk of being flooded out of their homes. 

· Ukrainians have been forced to turn off electrical appliances and use blankets to keep warm amid requests by the president and government, as the country faces the first nationwide electricity outages of the conflict. READ MORE BELOW

· Several countries have shared their frustration over Germany's refusal to cap gas prices as EU leaders continue to struggle to find a bloc-wide response to Europe's energy crisis. However, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said member states had agreed on a "roadmap" aimed at putting in place measures within weeks. 

· The U.S. has claimed Iranian military trainers have been in Crimea helping Russian forces to operate Tehran-made drones in the Ukraine conflict. Both Moscow and Tehran have denied accusations that drones being used in Ukraine are from Iran.

· The UK says it has imposed sanctions on three Iranian military figures and a defense manufacturer for supplying Moscow with drones for its war efforts in Ukraine, after the EU agreed similar sanctions against Tehran this week. 

· Ukraine's foreign minister has described having a detailed conversation with Israel's prime minister about Kyiv's request for air and missile defense systems and technology. Yair Lapid's office said the Israeli leader had expressed "deep concern" about the military connection between Iran and Russia.

· President Vladimir Putin has visited a training center for mobilized Russians for the first time since announcing a partial military call-up in September, with state television showing the leader shooting a newly developed sniper rifle at the site and hugging military men.

· UN chief Antonio Guterres has "spoken up very clearly" about the war in Ukraine and remains in communication with Moscow, a UN spokesperson said after Russia suggested cooperation with UN officials could be at risk.

IN DETAIL

First planned power cuts

Ukrainian citizens are enduring the first day of nationwide scheduled power outages since the war began so repairs can be made to damaged energy infrastructure as winter approaches. The government called on people across the country to cut down on their power usage as President Volodymyr Zelenksyy's office announced electricity curbs between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. on Thursday.

The first such restrictions since Russia launched its assault on its neighbor in February have included blackouts in some areas, and come after an uptick in Russian attacks on energy infrastructure. Zelenskyy has claimed that Russian missiles have hit a third of all Ukraine's power plants.

"In order to restore the reliability of our energy system, several weeks will be needed," said Volodymyr Kudritskiy, chairman of the board of national energy company Ukrenergo.

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The northeast region of Sumy went without water and some grocery shops in the capital Kyiv have reported an increased sales of bottled water amid the threat of supply disruptions. 

"There is much anger against Russian leaders and Russian people," said Kyiv resident Mikhaylo Holovnenko, "but we are ready for outages. We have candles, charged power banks. Ukraine is charged to win."

Russia's defense ministry said it was again targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, a strategy it has stepped up since the appointment this month of Sergei Surovikin as commander of Russia's assault on Ukraine.

Although he failed to provide any evidence, Zelenskyy in video addresses on Thursday accused Russia of preparing to cause a large-scale disaster by blowing up a hydroelectric dam and power station in the southern Kherson region. 

Ukraine has information that Russian forces have mined the dam and units of the Kakhovska hydroelectric power station, Zelenskyy asserted, adding that 80 settlements, including the city of Kherson, could experience rapid flooding.