MOSCOW: ‌Almost half a million people were left without ​electricity in Russia’s Belgorod region after Ukrainian strikes hit energy infrastructure, the region’s head said on Wednesday.

Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said power ‌outages affected around ‌450,000 ​people ‌across ⁠several ​districts, including ⁠the regional capital of Belgorod, with many residents also facing disruption to heating and water supply.

Night-time temperatures ⁠in Belgorod over the ‌coming ‌days are expected ​to hover ‌around zero degrees ‌Celsius.

Gladkov said that repair works have already started, but said that it will ‌take several days to complete.

Belgorod, which ⁠lies ⁠about 40 km (25 miles) from the border with Ukraine, has been a frequent target of Ukrainian drone and missile strikes in the four years since Russia invaded ​its neighbor.