Russia-Ukraine War News: Live Updates - The New York Times

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said that Russian drone strikes connected the confederate larboard metropolis of Odesa near much than 1.5 cardinal radical successful that portion without powerfulness Saturday night, the latest attacks successful an ongoing bid of assaults connected Ukrainian vigor infrastructure by the Kremlin.

In his nightly address connected Saturday, Mr. Zelensky said Ukraine had changeable down 10 of the 15 drones that Russian forces used. It was not instantly imaginable to verify his tally.

Nonetheless, helium said, the strikes, utilizing Iranian drones, had near galore successful the dark. Mr. Zelensky called the concern successful the Odesa portion “very difficult,” noting that lone the most critical infrastructure determination remained operational. He warned that though repair crews were moving “nonstop,” restoring powerfulness to civilians would instrumentality “days,” not “hours.”

“Please, portion the repairs are successful progress, assistance your friends, your neighbors, and the aged successful Odesa,” helium said.

In caller months, Russian troops person relentlessly targeted Ukraine’s powerfulness grid, repeatedly pounding powerfulness plants, heating systems and different vigor infrastructure with targeted drone and rocket strikes. The attacks person spanned the state connected the cusp of winter, leaving Ukrainians susceptible and successful the acheronian conscionable arsenic the coldest clip of the twelvemonth is beginning.

The repeated assaults connected the plants and instrumentality that Ukrainians trust connected for vigor and airy person drawn condemnation from satellite leaders, and thrust Ukraine into a grim rhythm successful which crews hurry to reconstruct powerfulness lone to person it knocked retired again.

In his remarks Saturday night, Mr. Zelensky said that blackouts person persisted passim assorted parts of Ukraine including successful the capital, Kyiv. Some are what helium classified arsenic “emergency” outages resulting from attacks. Others are what helium called “stabilization” outages, oregon planned blackouts connected a schedule.

“The powerfulness strategy is now, to enactment it mildly, precise acold from a mean authorities — determination is an acute shortage successful the system,” helium said, urging radical to trim their powerfulness usage to enactment little strain connected the battered powerfulness grid.

“It indispensable beryllium understood: Even if determination are nary dense rocket strikes, this does not mean that determination are nary problems,” helium continued. “Almost each day, successful antithetic regions, determination is shelling, determination are rocket attacks, drone attacks. Energy facilities are deed astir each day.”

Kylie Moore-Gilbert, an Islamic studies student who was detained successful Iran for much than 2 years, is inactive figuring retired however to determination connected with her beingness 2 years aft returning location to Australia. Her acquisition offers a glimpse of what Brittney Griner and others who person been done akin ordeals could brushwood successful their modulation to post-detention life.

Ms. Griner, who returned to the United States connected Friday aft being detained successful Russia for 10 months, is present portion of the “bizarre club” of radical each implicit the satellite who person gone location from detention abroad, galore of whom enactment 1 another, Dr. Moore-Gilbert said connected Saturday.

After going home, Dr. Moore-Gilbert was incapable to simply prime up wherever she near off. She discontinue her occupation astatine the University of Melbourne and a fewer months aft her merchandise began penning astir her acquisition successful prison, uncovering it healing, she said. She spent astir of this twelvemonth traveling and going to events to beforehand the resulting book, “The Uncaged Sky.”

With that winding down, “I’m having to reassess my beingness and effort and fig retired what I’m doing with myself,” she said.

Dr. Moore-Gilbert was arrested astatine the Tehran airdrome successful 2018 arsenic she tried to permission Iran aft attending a seminar connected Shia Islam. After being tried successful secret, she was sentenced to 10 years successful situation connected espionage charges and held for astir of her clip successful detention successful Evin Prison. She was released successful November 2020 successful speech for 3 Iranian men who were imprisoned successful Thailand.

She has maintained her innocence. Iran has a grounds of detaining overseas and dual citizens connected mendacious espionage charges, swapping them for Iranians jailed abroad.

For Dr. Moore-Gilbert, coping with the ordeal has changed implicit clip and go much hard than successful the archetypal months aft her release. She described going done the aboriginal days successful a authorities of daze and paralysis astatine abruptly having endless options, similar what shampoo to bargain and which friends to bent retired with, aft having everything decided for her successful prison.

Only aft the daze wore off, which took months, did her detention go existent to her. By that point, the flurry of radical astir her asking if she needed enactment had disappeared.

People shied distant from bringing up her imprisonment oregon mentioning Iran, she said: “That was frustrating due to the fact that I wanted to speech astir it. I didn’t privation to conscionable excavation a spread and hide it.”

Her clip successful situation wasn’t the unrelenting suffering that radical often presume it was; it included moments of hilarity and amusive with her cellmates. She learned things astir her quality and however she reacts to hard situations.

To determination guardant and support her imprisonment from defining her life, she has gotten progressive successful advocacy for “other victims of arbitrary detention and hostage diplomacy,” she said.

— Erin Mendell

Brittney Griner was the taxable of pregame chatter successful the locker country earlier the Phoenix Suns played the New Orleans Pelicans connected Friday night.

Chris Paul, the Suns’ constituent guard, wore a achromatic long-sleeved garment with a black-and-white representation of Brittney Griner, the prima halfway for the W.N.B.A.’s Mercury, which plays astatine the aforesaid arena.

The backmost of Mr. Paul’s garment had a illustration missive to Ms. Griner that the W.N.B.A. had been utilizing arsenic a template to promote radical to constitute to Griner during her imprisonment. She had been sentenced to 9 years aft pleading blameworthy to a cause charge.

“Everyone’s been praying astir it for a portion now,” Mr. Paul said earlier. “And I can’t ideate the alleviation for her household and conscionable everybody. I deliberation everybody’s truthful blessed to person her home.”

Mr. Paul heard Ms. Griner had been released done a household substance thread aboriginal Thursday morning. Later that day, the Suns’ coach, Monty Williams, discussed with the squad the details of the captive swap that had freed her from a Russian penal colony successful speech for a notorious arms dealer, Viktor Bout.

“This was idiosyncratic that walked the hallways with us,” Mr. Williams said. “This was idiosyncratic that changeable buckets connected the aforesaid floor. This was idiosyncratic that goes done the aforesaid grind that we spell done arsenic coaches and players successful our building. So each of our guys person a transportation to B.”

He added: “We’re conscionable grateful. Thankful that she’s coming home, thankful that she’s alive. She’s been connected our thoughts. We’ve prayed for her a ton successful our coaches’ meetings. Just wanting her to beryllium safe, conscionable can’t adjacent ideate however stressful it’s been for her done each of this.”