Updates: One Dead, Two Injured in Russia's Belgorod Region After Ukrainian Shelling

The company added that engineers are rerouting power supply to backup sources, with socially critical facilities being connected to backup power grids first and foremost.

In April, Russia sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that any arms shipments on the Ukrainian territory would be "legitimate targets" for Russian forces.

Earlier on Thursday, the Biden administration authorized another $600 million in military assistance to Ukraine, which brings the US total to $15.8 billion since President Joe Biden took office. The new package includes ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), precision-guided artillery rounds, and anti-drone systems, among other equipment.

The list also includes four counter-artillery radars, Claymore anti-personnel munitions, night vision devices, cold weather gear, among other equipment.

"I hereby delegate to the Secretary of State the authority...to direct the drawdown of up to $600 million in defense articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training, to provide assistance to Ukraine and to make the determinations required under such section to direct such a drawdown," Biden said on Thursday evening.

The work will be performed in Tacoma, Washington and is expected to be completed by January 2025, according to the Pentagon.

The issue of arms supplies to warring parties has become more widely discussed after NATO has been increasing its military support for Kiev in response to Russia's military operation in Ukraine, launched in February.

Ukrainian troops on Thursday attacked the Russian-controlled city of Novaya Kakhovka in the Kherson region using US-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, as a result of which a school, a stadium and a park were damaged, Ruslan Agayev, a representative of the Novaya Kakhovka administration, said.

"At 16:40 [13:40 GMT], the Ukrainian armed formations attacked Novaya Kakhovka with HIMARS. As a result of the strike, the secondary school No. 6 of Novaya Kakhovka, a stadium and a park used for walking with children were damaged," Agayev told reporters.

Vladimir Leontyev, the head of the Kakhovka district administration, also confirmed to Sputnik that a missile had landed in the park near the school, adding that the authorities had fragments and empennage remains proving that it had been nothing more than US-supplied HIMARS.

By a happy coincidence, no one was killed or injured, though windows in the school were broken and the building was damaged, Leontyev said.

"The residential areas continue to be shelled. This is another war crime of the Kiev regime," the official added.

The United States has imposed export controls on Russian products which it says are potentially useful for chemical and biological weapons production and advanced manufacturing, the Commerce Department said on Thursday.

"The Department of Commerce is expanding the existing sanctions against Russia and Belarus by imposing new export controls, including expanding the scope of the Russian industry sector sanctions to add lower-level items potentially useful for Russia’s chemical and biological weapons production capabilities and items needed for advanced production and development capabilities to enable advanced manufacturing across a number of industries," the statement said

NATO is working closely with defense industry so as to replenish arms stocks, which have been reduced due to the bloc's weapons supplies to Ukraine, while still trying to further provide military support to Kiev, NATO Secretary General said on Thursday.

"NATO is working closely with defense industry in order to replenish stocks for the military equipment the allies have sent to Ukraine," Stoltenberg said on the sidelines of a forum organized by US magazine Foreign Policy, adding that NATO countries were also asking defense companies to rump up their production.

At the same time, the secretary general stated that there was still urgent need for further support to Ukraine and it was important to ensure that the bloc had enough weapons and other equipment to fill its own stocks and provide military assistance to Kiev.

Last week, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht announced that Germany, one of the NATO countries actively supplying weapons to Ukraine, had reached its limit in terms of the arms exports to Kiev.

Since February 24, NATO has been increasing its military support for Kiev in response to Russia's military operation in Ukraine launched after calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.

In April, Russia sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that any arms shipments on the Ukrainian territory would be "legitimate targets" for Russian forces.

New sanctions announced by the United States on Russia target officials including "MIR" payment system CEO Vladimir Komlev and head of the central securities depository Viktor Zhidkov, the Treasury Department said on Thursday.

The US is sanctioning Komlev, who runs the MIR global payment system that could be used to circumvent international sanctions on Russia, the Treasury Department said in a statement. Komlev is CEO of NSPK, a central bank-owned entity that operates the MIR network.

The sanctions also target Zhidkov, who serves as chairman of the National Settlement Depository, Russia’s central securities depository, according to the Treasury Department.

The US will also target supporters of Russian sanctions evasion, including efforts to use or expand the MIR payment system outside Russia, the Treasury Department added.

Earlier on Thursday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board passed a resolution calling on Russia to withdraw its forces from the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, Reuters reported, citing diplomats.

According to Reuters, the text calls on Russia to "cease all actions against, and at, the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant and any other nuclear facility in Ukraine."

The United States imposed new sanctions targeting more than 30 Russian entities, the US Treasury Department announced on Thursday.

The Treasury Department sanctioned the Federal Research Center Institute of Applied Physics, Federal Institute of Spectroscopy and the Lebedev Physical Institute - all three belonging to the Russian Academy of Sciences - among other entities.

Estonian President Alar Karis said on Thursday that the country is preparing for the deployment of a NATO division with necessary funds already allocated for the preparation of military infrastructure.

Karis held a meeting with Admiral Rob Bauer, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, to discuss Estonia’s preparations for the deployment of a NATO division, expansion of the alliance and situation in Ukraine, the president’s office said.

"The government has allocated additional funding for the rapid development of new military capabilities. Our aim is to establish the framework for a division that enables allied forces to seamlessly work with and serve alongside the Estonian Defence Forces," Karis said.

It is important to Estonia that NATO units are ready to defend the country from the very first moment of any military conflict, according to the president.

"Among other things, that means specific units must be in place for just such an event," Karis said.

NATO has been boosting its presence in eastern Europe following the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine. Moscow views this military build-up as a threat saying this may result in a further escalation.