New wave of Russian strikes batter Ukraine grid

Repeated barrages have disrupted electricity and water supplies to millions of Ukrainians, but the Kremlin blamed civilians' suffering on Kyiv's refusal to negotiate, rather than on Russian attacks.

The capital's regional administration said "Four missiles and five Shahed drones were shot down over Kyiv," referring to Iranian-made suicide drones Moscow has been deploying in swarms against Ukraine targets.

The salvoes also came as Moscow and Kyiv confirmed the extension of an agreement allowing Ukraine to export grain through the Black Sea, which aims to help ease pressure on the global supply of food.

Ukraine has faced a  series of strikes against its power grid following battlefield victories against Russia, the latest being Moscow's retreat from the southern city of Kherson.

Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubynets on Thursday described the scale of torture uncovered in Kherson as "just horrific".

Since the Russians retreated last week following eight months of occupation, chilling accounts have started to emerge from Kherson.

Lubynets said the authorities had found "torture chambers" where he said dozens of people had been tortured and killed.

An earlier stage of the war engulfing the nation saw Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 brought down over Ukraine in 2014, killing all 298 people on board.

A Dutch court on Thursday sentenced two Russians and a Ukrainian to life in prison over the plane's downing with a Russian-supplied missile, but none of the suspects were in court.

President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the "important" ruling but said the people ultimately responsible must be brought to justice too.

Moscow dismissed the ruling as politically motivated from a court under "unprecedented pressure".

The trial in the Netherlands could go down in history as "one of the most scandalous in the history of legal proceedings", the foreign ministry said.