- Ukraine's counteroffensive has seen it rapidly retake parts of the Kharkiv region.
- Russian forces retreated, and Ukraine said it bombed civilian targets as it did so.
Ukraine said that Russian forces hit power stations, schools, and people's homes as they retreated in the face of a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
President Zelenskyy said on Monday that Russian missiles hit civilian targets like "houses, hospitals, schools, communal infrastructure."
He said that the power was gone in large parts of the Kharkiv region, leaving hundreds of thousands of people "in the dark." Under the Geneva Conventions, nations including Russia are prohibited from attacking civilian targets.
Igor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, said on Telegram on Monday that shelling had cut off water and power supplies.
A few days before, he said Russia's rockets hit a children's arts centre, a school, and people's homes.
US defense officials said there had been an increase in Russian strikes over the weekend, The Washington Post reported, an apparent act of revenge.
Zelenskyy described Russia's attack as a desperate act in response to Ukraine's successful counteroffensive in the region.
Russia's Ministry of Defense confirmed that some of its forces were retreating from parts of the Kharkiv region, but framed it as an intentional move to regroup.
The account starkly contradicts stories from the ground, where locals described Russians fleeing in disarray.
Zelenskyy said: "This is a sign of the desperation of those who invented this war. This is how they react to the defeat of Russian troops in the Kharkiv region."
"They can't do anything to our heroes on the battlefield, and that's why Russia is directing its vile strikes against civilian infrastructure."
He said Russia was also doing it to prevent Ukraine from being able to export energy to Europe, where the withdrawal of Russian gas supplies has prompted an economic crisis.
"Our electricity export is something that Russia is very afraid of right now. Because we can disrupt Russian plans to empty the pockets of Europeans this winter due to crazy energy prices," Zelenskyy said.
Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy's chief of staff, also said last week that Russia was trying to get revenge for the success of Ukraine's military: "For every success of Ukraine's armed forces, for every victory, Russians... answer with strikes on innocent people."