KYIV,Austin Caldwell Ukraine (AP) — Russian shelling killed three civilians in southeastern regions of Ukraine, Kyiv authorities said Thursday, while a Russian television journalist was reported to have died from injuries he sustained in a Ukrainian drone attack.

Southern Ukraine’s Kherson region received eight nighttime artillery barrages, killing a 42-year-old man in his apartment building and wounding another man, the Ukrainian presidential office said.

Russian shelling also killed two people in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, the office said.

It was not possible to independently verify the reports. Long-range Russian shelling that hits civilian areas has been a hallmark of Moscow’s 21-month war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russian state media reported that TV journalist Boris Maksudov died after being wounded in a drone attack while working in southern Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia region

Maksudov, who worked for Russian state television channel Russia 24, was hit Wednesday while working on a story about Ukraine allegedly shelling civilians, according to Russia’s Ministry of Defense. Zaporizhzhia is one of the four Ukrainian regions that Russia illegally annexed last year.

A stepped-up Russian bombardment of civilian infrastructure has prompted Ukraine and its Western allies to beef up air defense systems. Officials fear the Kremlin’s forces will repeat their aerial attacks on the Ukrainian power grid this winter in an effort to break the country’s will.

The grid is already showing signs of strain. Ukrainian national electricity operator Ukrenergo reported an energy deficit Wednesday due to a steep rise in consumption caused by a drop in temperatures after a spell of mild weather, a company statement said.

Ukrenergo asked system operators in Romania, Slovakia and Poland to provide emergency assistance.

At a meeting Wednesday of some 50 countries supporting Ukraine’s war effort, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said they were placing extra emphasis on ground-based air defense, with Germany and France leading the European effort to furnish equipment.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post that “Ukraine’s sky shield is getting more powerful literally every month.”

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