Russia claims it foiled British-led 'sabotage' plot; 200,000 left without power after 'massive' attack

Ukraine's parliament on Thursday passed a controversial new law that will give the government more power to mobilize society for war as the country continues to battle Russia's onslaught.

The vote in favor of the legislation follows months of delays and must now be signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to take effect.

— Sam Meredith

Russia and the U.S. are discussing non-deployment of nuclear weapons in space, Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said Thursday, according to Russian state media agency Tass.

"Our delegations at the relevant international platforms, and above all in New York, where Washington - the US Administration - is promoting the topic of accusations against Russia, are indeed in contact and discussing this issue," Ryabkov said in Google-translated comments.

Ryabkov said space could be used for military purposes but there should not be strikes there and Russia would work to keep space peaceful.

"We will work with the world majority in the interests of guaranteeing that space will remain peaceful, to achieve a situation where there will be no threat to anyone from there," he said.

Earlier this year, tensions flared between Washington and Moscow over the risk of potential nuclear attacks in space. Russia at the time denied claims from the U.S. that it was developing nuclear weapons that would target satellites in space.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Lithuania's capital Vilnius on Thursday to attend a conference and meet with the leaders of several other European countries.

Leaders from a dozen states in Central Europe, including Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania, are due to attend the Three Seas Summit in Vilnius on Thursday, with the war in Ukraine prominent on the agenda.

Zelenskyy, who announced his arrival in a post on X, will first meet with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and the two countries plan to sign a bilateral security agreement.

He signed another security agreement on Thursday with Latvia, which committed to spend at least 0.25% of its gross domestic product over 10 years with cyber defense, demining, and unmanned technologies.

"The main task for now is to make every effort to strengthen our air-defense system, to meet the urgent needs of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, and to consolidate international support so that we can overcome Russian terror," Zelenskyy said.

— Reuters

Russia said it had carried out a "massive" drone and missile attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure in response to Ukrainian attacks on its oil and gas industry.

"In response to attempts by the Kiev regime to inflict damage on the oil and gas industry and energy facilities of Russia, Armed Forces of the Russian Federation launched a massive overnight strike with high-precision long-range air and sea-based weapons, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles, against facilities of the fuel and energy complex of Ukraine," Russia's Ministry of Defense said Thursday, according to a Google translation.

"The goals of the strike were fulfilled. All targets were hit," the ministry added.

Early-morning Russian missile and drone attacks on several regions across Ukraine left thousands of civilians without power and damaged energy infrastructure, officials said Thursday.

Russia's defense ministry said that, as a result of the attacks, the "operation of Ukrainian military industry enterprises was disrupted, the transfer of reserves to combat areas was disrupted, and the supply of fuel to military units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was hampered."

CNBC could not confirm developments on the ground.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), the country's top security agency, claimed Thursday that it had foiled a British-led plot to land "sabotage groups" on a spit of land in the southern Kherson region.

In a statement, the FSB stated that, along with Russia's Ministry of Defense, it had "foiled a landing of sabotage groups of special forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine planned by British special services on the Tendrovskaya spit of Kherson region."

The Tendrovskaya or Tendrivska spit is a sandbar in the Black Sea area of the Kherson region.

The FSB said the Ukrainian "landing group" was destroyed during the operation to thwart the plot and took one member of the group as prisoner of war. The agency claimed the POW provided "detailed information" about the "sabotage" operation, alleging that it was planned against the MSP-17 drilling rig in the Shtormove gas field in the Black Sea.

The FSB did not present evidence for its claims and it's unclear whether information was extracted under duress.

The FSB claimed the landing group's activities were being "supervised" by a unit within the British Royal Marines, claiming that this "indicates a direct involvement of Great Britain in the conflict."

It did not provide evidence for this claim but has frequently accused Ukraine's Western allies of direct participation in the war, and of masterminding Ukrainian attacks.

NBC News has reached out to Ukrainian officials and the British Ministry of Defense for comment and is awaiting a response.

— Holly Ellyatt

More than 6,000 people have been evacuated due to floods in Russia's Kurgan region, the RIA news agency said on Thursday, citing local authorities.

The deluge of meltwater has forced over 110,000 people from their homes in Russia's Ural Mountains, Siberia and Kazakhstan as major rivers such as the Ural, which flows through Kazakhstan into the Caspian Sea, overwhelmed embankments.

— Reuters

Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure have completely destroyed the Trypilska thermal power plant near Ukraine's capital Kyiv, a senior company official said.

"All the workers who were on shift during the attack are alive," Andriy Hota, the chairman of Centrenergo, told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

After the attack, a large-scale fire swept through the turbine area of the facility. Efforts to extinguish the fire are ongoing. The company is working to contain the fire.

Russian forces carried out a large-scale drone and missile attack against Ukrainian energy infrastructure early Thursday morning, leaving over 200,000 people without power in the Kharkiv region. Substations and power facilities in five regions were damaged, grid operator Ukrenergo said.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russia's Foreign Ministry has advised its citizens against traveling to the Middle East, warning against travel to Israel, Lebanon and Palestinian territories in particular, except in cases of extreme necessity.

"The tense situation in the Middle East region continues. The situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone, as well as in the Blue Line area between Lebanon and Israel, remains unstable," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told news agency RIA Novosti.

Zakharova urged citizens to follow updates published by the foreign ministry and embassies.

— Holly Ellyatt

Switzerland has confirmed it will host a high-level conference on how to achieve peace in Ukraine, the Swiss government said late Wednesday.

The summit will take place on June 15-16 in the resort of Burgenstock. Ukraine is expected to use the event to promote its 10-point peace plan to end the war with Russia.

The conference — not the first to be held looking at ways to achieve a peaceful resolution to the 26-month conflict — is expected to focus on developing a "common understanding among the participating states with a view to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine," Switzerland's Federal Council said in a statement.

It added that, after consulting international partners, "including G7 member states, the EU and representatives of the "Global South such as China, India, South Africa, Brazil, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia," it found that there was "sufficient international support for a high-level conference to launch the peace process."

Ukraine's "peace formula" calls for the complete withdrawal of all Russian troops from its territory, one of a number of a conditions that are seen as unlikely to be achieved after Russia annexed four Ukrainian regions and declared them to be Russian territory.

Russia has not been invited to this or previous peace conferences, raising question marks over how much such summits can achieve. A spokesperson at the Russian embassy in Switzerland confirmed to CNBC that it had not received an invitation to the forthcoming summit, saying that it would decline an invitation in any case.

"The idea of a 'peace conference' promoted by the organizers is inappropriate for us, as it is just another variant of pushing through an unviable 'peace formula' that does not take into account Russian concerns," said Vladimir Khokhlov, press secretary at the embassy.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russian drone and missile strikes targeting infrastructure in several regions across Ukraine early Thursday show the need for more air defense systems, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

More than 40 missiles and about 40 attack drones were involved in the latest attacks, Zelenskyy said on Telegram, noting that while some of the rockets and unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down, not all were intercepted.

"Russian terrorists once again targeted critical infrastructure objects. There was another vile missile attack on Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region. Objects in other regions were also targeted: Kyiv, Zaporizhzhya, Odesa, and Lviv," Zelenskyy stated.

"Each of our neighbors in Europe, each of our other partners sees how critical Ukraine's need for air defense is," he said, adding, "Air defense and other defense support are needed, not turning a blind eye and long discussions."

"If Russia is allowed to continue to do this, if Russian missiles and "Shaheds" [Iranian-made drones] will hit not only Ukraine, but also at the determination of its partners, this will be a global license for terror."

Ukraine is growing frustrated at procrastination over additional military aid, with $60 billion of U.S. assistance blocked by Republican lawmakers. In the meantime, Ukraine's military needs are acute, with reported shortages of manpower and critical artillery shells.

— Holly Ellyatt

Thousands of people have been left without power after an early-morning Russian missile and drone attack on the northeastern region of Kharkiv, officials said Thursday.

"This morning, another massive Russian attack on Ukraine's energy sector. The enemy launched dozens of drones and missiles in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia and Lviv regions. Fortunately, there were no casualties," Oleksiy Kuleba, the deputy head of the Ukrainian president's office, said on Telegram.

More than 200,000 consumers were affected by the latest strikes in the Kharkiv region, he stated.

"The most difficult situation is in the Kharkiv region. There are more than 10 rocket strikes in the city alone. The terrorist country is trying to destroy Kharkiv's infrastructure and leave the city in darkness. Currently, there are already power outages in the region — more than 200,000 consumers in the Kharkiv region are left without power supply," he said.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said Thursday that Russia had launched "at least 10 blows on the critical infrastructure of the city of Kharkiv and the region."

There was no information on any casualties in the attacks, he said in his post on Telegram, and the authorities were working to fix power outages.

Russia denies deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure but has repeatedly targeted power networks in Ukraine, looking to destabilize and disable energy infrastructure.

— Holly Ellyatt

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday called on allied countries to deliver air defense systems and fighter jets to Ukraine in order to help better protect cities amid Russia's onslaught.

Zelenskky said via social media platform X that Ukraine also needs artillery to push back Russian forces on the frontline and called for further pressure to be exerted on the Kremlin to prevent President Vladimir Putin "from building up his military potential."

"This is all entirely realistic," Zelenksyy said, referencing remarks made in his address to the Delphi Economic Forum in Greece.

"And it only depends on our partners' political will. Putin can only use his aggression to make up for the shortage of global solutions. A shortage that has gone on for too long. It is possible to win this war. But shortages do not advance victory," he added.

— Sam Meredith

Photos published via Getty Images over the last 24 hours in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv show a damaged residential building, rescue workers taking cover during an air strike alarm and people visiting an area destroyed by Russian attacks.

— Sam Meredith

Russia's Orsk oil refinery, which has halted output after widespread floods, declared force majeure on fuel supplies from April 8, according to a document issued by plant owner Forteinvest and seen by Reuters.

Russia's oil refineries were already struggling with Ukrainian drone attacks and technical outages, forcing the country to ban gasoline exports, with some exceptions, for half a year from March 1.

Forteinvest said the plant had been shut to avoid ecological risks and ensure labour safety. Last year the refinery processed 4.5 million metric tons (90,000 barrels per day) of oil.

Floods engulfed cities and towns across Russia and Kazakhstan on Wednesday after Europe's third-longest river burst its banks, forcing about 110,000 people to evacuate and swamping parts of the Russian city of Orenburg.

— Reuters

The water level in the Ural River in the city of Orenburg, an epicenter of dramatic flooding in southern Russia, has risen to 996 cm, the city's Mayor Sergei Salmin said on the Rossiya-24 TV channel Wednesday.

The level is reportedly 66 cm above the danger level and higher than readings taken earlier this morning, news agency TASS reported.

"At 12 o'clock local time (10:00 a.m. Moscow time) the water is still rising, now we have already exceeded all the highest marks. Our dangerous value is 930 cm. At the moment we have already recorded 996 cm," Salmin said, TASS noted.

He said 1,910 households were now flooded and 865 people had been evacuated from the city. Salmin said evacuations continued. 

— Holly Ellyatt

Russian billionaires taken off EU sanctions list; Ukraine accused of another nuclear plant drone strike