LIVE UPDATES: Ukraine Intends to Start Power Supplies to Poland in December, Zelensky Says

Thousands of hectares of forest are burning in the Kinburn Spit Reserve in the Russia-controlled part of Mykolaiv region as a result of Ukrainian shelling, at least four civilians died, a source in the emergency services of the neighboring Kherson region told Sputnik.

"With the outbreak of hostilities, a heavy blow was dealt to the ecosystem of the peninsula - the Kinburn Spit was covered with fires that arose due to artillery strikes carried out by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. To date, more than 11,000 hectares of forest have burned out and are irretrievably lost. The actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine led not only to the death of thousands of hectares of forest and to the impossibility of extinguishing fires due to the high risk of mine explosions, but also to the deaths of civilians," the source said.

He specified that two civilians were killed when their vehicle blew up on a Ukrainian mine on August 13. Another two civilians were killed on August 15, when their car hit a Ukrainian mine in the same area (between the villages of Vasylivka and Pokrovske).

"This stopped fire trucks from leaving the village of Vasylivka, and the fight against fires became impossible. All that local residents can do in this situation is to fight fires inside their villages and around power substations," the emergencies source told Sputnik.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says his country intends to start supplying electricity to Poland in December, from the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

"I have ordered to accelerate the reconstruction of the power transmission line from the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant to the Polish city of Rzeszow ... We must complete this reconstruction by December 8 and provide Poland with the necessary amount of electricity," Zelensky said in a Saturday video address.

In June, Ukraine and Poland signed an agreement providing for cooperation in the energy sector, as well as for phasing out Russian energy.

Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko has proposed to the EU to issue a permit to increase electricity trade with Ukraine.

Ukrainian troops fired a barrage of missiles at the Russia-held southern city of Novaya Kakhovka in Kherson region on Saturday, targeting a key hydropower plant, the district administration said.

"No visible hits by Ukrainian missiles were reported in the city. The Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant was one of the usual targets," the administration said on social media.

The power plant supplies the district with electricity and provides for the irrigation of large swathes of southern Ukraine and northern Crimea. District authorities said air defense fired 14 missiles at aerial targets.

According to the authorities, this is the fourth shelling of the city in 24 hours.

According to the official, the visitors were free to talk to ordinary residents and see for themselves what the situation in the region was like to get a first-hand opinion of the events.

He added that electricity is now being supplied to the liberated territories of the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.