Russia, on Thursday (Mar 27), accused Ukraine of launching drones and artillery targeting energy sites in the Bryansk region and Moscow-annexed Crimea, despite signing an agreement to halt such strikes.  

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A senior Ukrainian official said that Russia and Kyiv did not attack each other's energy facilities since Tuesday, which was the day when the Whit House announced that the agreement was reached between the warring sides in Saudi Arabia, according to news agency AFP.

Russia's defence ministry said that Kyiv had launched a drone targeting the electricity site in the Bryansk region on Wednesday and fired artillery at a power unit in the same region on Thursday (Mar 27).

It said that on Wednesday, Ukraine also fired a drone at a gas storage facility in Crimea.

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"Despite the Kyiv regime's statements about the alleged cessation of strikes on Russian energy facilities, over the past 24 hours the Ukrainian Armed Forces have continued to strike energy infrastructure," the ministry said. 

Washington said that on Tuesday both Moscow and Kyiv separately agreed to "develop measures for implementing" a halt on strikes on energy infrastructure.

The Ukrainian official told news agency AFP that last week, Moscow hit Ukraine's energy facilities after Russian President Vladimir Putin originally agreed to a 30-day halt on such strikes in a phone call with Donald Trump. 

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Ukraine army denies Russian claims of targeting energy sites

The Ukrainian army, on Thursday (Mar 27), denied the claims by Moscow that it had launched attacks targeting Russian energy sites.

Ukraine's General Staff wrote on social media that a "statement by the Russian defence ministry" on alleged violation of the cessation of strikes against energy facilities "is not true". 

Meanwhile, a senior Ukrainian official told news agency AFP that it considered a Russian attack as a violation of the agreements.

"There has been shelling, seemingly not aimed at the energy sector, but the energy sector was affected," they told AFP, referring to an artillery hit on the southern city of Kherson that left 67,000 subscribers without electricity.

"We qualify this as a clear violation," they added.

(With inputs from agencies)