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The latest developments in Russia’s war on Ukraine. All times EDT.

4 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized Russia for targeting energy infrastructure in its attacks over the past days, The Associated Press reported.

“Hundreds and thousands of Ukrainians found themselves in the dark — without electricity. Houses, hospitals, schools, communal infrastructure … sites that have absolutely nothing to do with the infrastructure of the armed forces of our country.”

Among Kharkiv’s battle-scarred apartment buildings, one man who returned to feed the birds struck a defiant tone, saying that the success of the Ukrainian counteroffensive would likely prompt harsh Russian retaliation against civilian targets. But he said it would not succeed in intimidating ordinary Ukrainians.

Putin “does not know what to do, and he will strike here even more. Just on infrastructure,” said Serhii who only gave his first name.

“He will strike so we don’t have water, electricity, to create more chaos and intimidate us. But he will not succeed because we will survive, and Putin will soon croak!”

3:20 a.m.: Western sanctions on Russia are having a real impact and are there to stay, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday, stressing that the European Union’s solidarity with Ukraine would be “unshakeable.”

With Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska the guest of honor as she delivered her annual state of the union speech, von der Leyen was set to unveil proposals to curb the energy price spike that has hit Europe in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported.

“Never before has this Parliament debated the State of our Union with war raging on European soil,” von der Leyen told the European Parliament in Strasbourg, where many lawmakers and EU commissioners wore Ukraine’s blue and yellow colors.

“And I stand here with the conviction that with courage and solidarity, Putin will fail and Europe will prevail,” von der Leyen said, adding: “Europe’s solidarity with Ukraine will remain unshakeable.”

Von der Leyen, whose proposals to help European households and companies will include skimming off windfall profits from energy companies and imposing cuts in electricity usage across the bloc, said the bloc would also help rebuild Ukraine.

3 a.m.: Russia’s Gazprom said on Wednesday that it will ship 42.4 million cubic meters of natural gas to Europe via Ukraine, a volume unchanged from yesterday, Reuters reported, citing state-owned TASS news agency.

2:05 a.m.: Reports of chaos abounded as Russian troops pulled out — as well as claims that they were surrendering en masse. The claims could not be immediately verified, The Associated Press reported.

Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar said Kyiv is trying to persuade even more Russian soldiers to give up, launching shells filled with flyers ahead of their advance.

“Russians use you as cannon fodder. Your life doesn’t mean anything [to] them. You don’t need this war. Surrender to Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the flyers read.

1 a.m.: Russia has likely used Iranian-made uncrewed aerial vehicles in Ukraine for the first time, Britian’s defense intelligence said on Wednesday, after Kyiv reported downing one of the UAVs on Tuesday.

“Russia is almost certainly increasingly sourcing weaponry from other heavily sanctioned states like Iran and North Korea as its own stocks dwindle,” it said in a regular update.

The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said on Wednesday that Russian forces had launched three missile strikes, 33 air strikes and fired 58 rocket artillery strikes at military and civilian targets over the past 24 hours, Reuters reported.

12:05 a.m.: Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesman for the Ukrainian military’s general staff, accused Russian forces of committing hundreds of war crimes in territory they once held, The Associated Press reported.

He said the danger of minefields in liberated towns and villages remained high, and ammunition and high explosives have been strewn across 70,000 square kilometers (27,000 square miles).

“The defense forces are taking measures to return peaceful life to the liberated communities as soon as possible,” he said.

While dozens of towns and villages were liberated, authorities moved into several areas to investigate alleged atrocities against civilians by Russian troops.

The Kharkiv regional prosecutor’s office said four bodies bearing signs of torture were found in the village of Zaliznychne. It’s not clear how many other places investigators have entered.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.