Airstrikes continue in Ukraine as war nears three years

[Anchor]

Now, let's take a look at the news on the Ukraine war.

As the U.S. Trump administration prepares to intervene in the ceasefire, the power struggle between Russia and Ukraine has intensified.

KBS reporters Geum Cheol-young and Lee Seung-cheol have begun their local coverage in Ukraine.

Let's connect with them.

Reporter Geum Cheol-young, you are currently in the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, right?

What is the current situation?

[Reporter]

Yes, the capital Kyiv appears relatively calm on the surface.

Most shops are open, except for some areas destroyed by airstrikes.

However, significant damage to the city's infrastructure has made power supply unstable.

It has become common for electricity to cut off during meals at restaurants.

Two days ago, Russian forces attacked Ukraine's power facilities again, and the Ukrainian military retaliated with airstrikes on oil facilities in western Russia yesterday.

The outbreak of the war is now reaching three years.

During this time, countless soldiers have died or been injured, and many civilians have been forcibly taken to Russia and detained, with no accurate statistics available.

Lee Seung-cheol met with families who are anxiously hoping for their safe return.

[Report]

In the square of St. Sophia's Cathedral in Kyiv, with temperatures at minus 10 degrees, hundreds of citizens gathered despite the biting cold.

The photos they hold are of fathers, husbands, and sons who have been captured by Russian forces.

They desperately call for the immediate release and repatriation of 'civilian prisoners' who are illegally detained by Russia.

[Artem/Organizer of rally: "It is very hard to see the families of the prisoners suffering, and I want to do everything I can to help them so that their pain does not worsen."]

The Christmas tree set up in the square is a wish to meet their detained family members.

Olena, from the occupied Kherson region, hung a photo of her husband Serhiy on the tree.

Shortly after the war broke out, Russian forces seized Olena's home and accused her husband of being a spy, and took him away.

[Olena/Wife of a civilian prisoner: "My husband has been sentenced to 13 years on fabricated spy charges by the Russian military, and he is currently incarcerated in a correctional facility in Ryazan Oblast."]

Since the outbreak of the war, the UN estimates the number of civilian casualties and injuries on the Ukrainian side to reach 40,000.

This statistic does not include civilians detained in Russia.

There are no official statistics on the number of civilians forcibly taken to Russia.

The Ukrainian government estimates the number to be around 700, but the Ukrainian parliament estimates it to be over 25,000.

This is Lee Seung-cheol reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine for KBS News.