Russia strikes Ukrainian power infrastructure and Ukrainians salvage operable parts to repair what's left, often only for Russian airstrikes to hit the facility again. That leaves ordinary people with only a few hours of power a day in the middle of winter.

Kyiv

Russian forces have invaded Ukraine from land, air and sea with strikes causing widespread damage. Global leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions.

Ukraine Invasion

Ukraine's power infrastructure continues to face relentless attacks from Russian drones and ballistic missiles, with Kyiv experiencing frequent strikes throughout 2025. Many missiles are intercepted, but those that reach their targets have caused significant damage to power and heating plants, resulting in widespread outages and a reliance on diesel generators.

Repair crews face challenges due to the age of Soviet-era equipment and the scarcity of compatible replacement parts, often salvaging what they can to restore limited power. Despite the risks and repeated destruction, workers persist in their efforts, with officials emphasizing the need for improved air defense systems to prevent future attacks.

Cycle of strike-repair-strike leaves Ukraine without power

Just another night in Kiev. Russian drones and ballistic missiles raining down on Ukraine's capital. These strikes took place in November, but you can find images like these from pretty much any week of 2025. Many missiles are intercepted, but some inevitably reach their targets. In recent months, that's largely been Ukraine's power and heating plants. And this is what the immediate aftermath looks and sounds like on the streets of Kiev. A rumble of diesel generators dominating a city in darkness. Within a day or two, the situation usually stabilises. Chaotic outages give way to scheduled power cuts. Ten hours without power become five, and life feels a little more manageable. That is, until the next attack. The workers at this power station have seen it all before. Between their company's two sites they've dealt with over 200 attacks since the war began. But the most recent strike was by far the biggest to date. Ballistic missiles followed by Shahed drones. There was no chance of downing them all. Covering an entire power station like the one behind me in its entirety in concrete just isn't realistic. And it's also not very likely to work, given that Russia has proven that it is willing to spend millions of dollars on ballistic missiles that are able to break through the best conventional defences. It's been over a week since the attack when we visit. These workers are still trying to assess the extent of the damage and save any equipment that may have survived. What makes these attacks so devastating is that most of the equipment can't readily be replaced. Most of this equipment was produced during the Soviet period. We get help from other countries that also used to be part of the Soviet Union, particularly the Baltic countries. They've sent us very valuable kit in the past. Unfortunately, that was also destroyed in the last attack. Our problem is that modern equipment doesn't match our systems and even if it can be used here, we'd be waiting too long for delivery. Right now we're taking apart everything we have left and we're trying to put together a few functioning power units. That means salvaging parts from many damaged power units to build a handful of improvised working replacements. The power company CEO tells us the only hope of preventing repeat attacks is more and better air defence systems. Many people didn't believe we'd be able to rebuild after the attacks in 2024. But we did and we got through that winter against all the odds. Here, there are air raids that often last 12 to 18 hours and somehow our workers still manage to do their jobs. Sergei and Alexei were on duty the night of the most recent attack. We can't leave the equipment unattended. We have to be there. Everyone else goes to the shelter during air raid alerts, but we can't do that. One of the missiles hit just 30 metres away from where they were working. This attack, they tell us, came just as they'd almost finished repairs on the plant from a previous strike in 2024. We usually work nights. That's why we're the ones who are always there for the attacks. We've seen so many that we can tell if it's a shot-head drone, a cruise missile or a ballistic missile just by the blast wave. Less than two weeks after the last strike, Sergei, Alexei and their colleagues are back at work, trying to provide people across Ukraine with at least a few hours of power a day this winter. For more UN videos visit www.un.org

King Charles III, who shared his cancer diagnosis with the world in February 2024, announced Friday that he would be scaling back his treatment after his doctors have seen success. The monarch also pushed for people to get early screenings, saying, "Early diagnosis quite simply saves lives."

London

King Charles to reduce cancer treatments

Belarus has freed more than 100 political prisoners, including a Nobel Peace Prize winner, in exchange for sanction relief on Belarusian potash, a U.S. statement said on Saturday.

Minsk

Belarus releases political prisoners as U.S. lifts some sanctions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he visited troops fending off Russian advances near the embattled city of Kupiansk that Moscow claimed to have captured last month, which Kyiv denies.

Kup'yans'k

Zelenskyy visits troops as Ukraine claims gained ground near key city

In an audacious move, the EU has decided to indefinitely immobilize the Russian sovereign assets, pushing back against external pressure to release the funds before Moscow agrees to pay war reparations to Ukraine.

Brussels

EU locking in Russian assets for good

U.S. House Democrats released new images from the estate of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that feature U.S. President Donald Trump and other high-profile people previously linked to Epstein.

Washington

House Democrats release more Epstein estate photos

For the first time, Amnesty International has accused Hamas and its allies of committing crimes against humanity, following an investigation into the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel. The organization found that 1,221 people were killed and said the mass killing of civilians amounted to extermination.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Amnesty accuses Hamas of 'crimes against humanity' for Oct. 7 attack

The “Architects of AI” were named Time's person of the year Thursday, with the magazine citing 2025 as when the potential of artificial intelligence “roared into view” with no turning back.

Rise of AI

Time magazine names 'Architects of AI' as person of the year for 2025

Message board website Reddit filed a lawsuit on Friday (December 12) asking Australia's High Court to overturn the country's social media ban for people under 16 as well as its inclusion in it, calling the law an infringement of free political expression.

Council of the City of Sydney

Reddit sues to overturn Australian social media ban

As tensions rise with Venezuela, U.S. President Donald Trump said land operations could start "pretty soon." Sources tell CBS News the administration is also planning more tanker seizures.

Trump says Venezuela land operations could begin 'pretty soon'

One day after capturing an oil tanker off Venezuela's coast, the U.S. has sanctioned three of Nicolas Maduro's nephews, along with six other oil tankers.

Trump ramps up pressure on Maduro with new sanctions

The EU has decided to keep the assets of the Russian Central Bank immobilised for the foreseeable future. The ban, which is based on a provision for economic emergencies, pushes back against external attempts to release the €210 billion in assets before Ukraine is compensated.

Moscow

EU triggers emergency clause to indefinitely immobilise Russian assets

Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said she planned to take her award back to Venezuela, but declined to say when she would return to her home country after leaving in great secrecy to receive the honor.

Caracas

Nobel peace laureate Machado vows to take award home to Venezuela

Japanese authorities are assessing damage after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck northern Japan, followed by multiple aftershocks. In response, officials have issued a warning about the possibility of a megaquake, defined as a magnitude 8.0 or higher event.

Tokyo

Japan alerts citizens about possible megaquake

A Maryland judge has ordered the Trump administration to immediately release Kilmar Abrego Garcia from ICE custody. Abrego Garcia was wrongfully deported to El Salvador and was later detained for potential deportation to another country.

Judge orders Kilmar Abrego Garcia's immediate release from ICE custody

About 500,000 people are fleeing renewed clashes on the Thailand-Cambodia border. Over a dozen were killed as fighting shatters a US-Malaysia-brokered peace deal amid a decades-old temple land dispute.

Samraong

Half a million flee as Thailand-Cambodia border clashes escalate

The U.S. has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, ratcheting up tensions with Caracas.

Trump confirms seizing of Venezuelan oil tanker

The U.S. House has approved a bill to end all Caesar Act sanctions on Syria, sparking cautious optimism in Damascus as the measure moves closer to becoming law.

U.S. House votes to lift Caesar Act sanctions on Syria

Myanmar's military bombs a hospital in western Rakhine state, at least 31 people are killed and dozens injured.

Rakhine

Air strike in Myanmar killed at least 31 people, dozens injured

The U.S. military seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the ship had been used to violate sanctions on oil from Venezuela and Iran.

U.S. seizes oil tanker off Venezuela coast

The daughter of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her mother's behalf in Oslo, Norway. Machado, who lives in hiding in Venezuela, is set to make an address on Thursday.

Oslo

Venezuela's Machado awarded Nobel Peace Prize in absentia

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is commenting on potential elections in Ukraine under certain conditions. Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst joins CBS News with more on the war against Russia.

Zelenskyy prepared to hold elections after Trump questions motive

A renewed outbreak of fighting between Thailand and Cambodia has derailed a US-brokered peace agreement, with cross-border shelling and air raids forcing more than half a million civilians to flee their homes.

Bangkok

Border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia flares up again

U.S. immigration agents used pepper spray against protesters in Minneapolis on Tuesday as residents blocked the officers’ vehicles and forced them to leave the area.

Minneapolis

Minneapolis protests erupt over ICE operation targeting Somalis

In Australia, millions of kids' social media profiles are going dark, as the country's new social media ban takes effect for anyone under 16. Jo Ling Kent reports.

Canberra

Australia's social media ban takes effect for kids under 16

President Trump, in recent months, has dismissed concerns about affordability, but this evening, in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, he is focusing on the crisis and touting his administration's efforts to lower the cost of living. Nancy Cordes has more.

Pennsylvania

Trump tries to flip the script on affordability

Dozens of protesters blocked a highway near Tel Aviv to demonstrate against moves by the Israeli government to force some ultra-Orthodox Jews into mandatory military service, something they are currently exempt from so they can study the Torah full time.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Bill over ultra-Orthodox military conscription sparks protests in Israel

President Trump has told Politico that Nicolas Maduro's "days are numbered" in Venezuela. Political strategists Kevin Sheridan and Hyma Moore join with analysis.

Trump says Maduro’s “days are numbered”

The FBI has released a new photo of former Olympian Ryan Wedding, whom the bureau’s director has described as a “modern day iteration of Pablo Escobar.” The ex-skier and snowboarder remains at large as agents continue their search.

FBI releases new photo of alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Pope Leo XIV and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Tuesday (December 9), meanwhile voicing his refusal to surrender territory to Moscow despite pressure from Washington for territorial concessions.

Rome

Zelenskyy seeks backing from Pope Leo XIV, Italian PM Meloni

A federal judge said Tuesday (December 9) that the Department of Justice can unseal the Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking case records. CBS News' Scott MacFarlane has more details.

Cycle of strike-repair-strike leaves Ukraine without power

Breakdown

See The Full Story

Ukraine Invasion