Ukrainians are appealing to the generosity of Reading after Russian forces bombed energy infrastructure in a city where the invaders suffered their most recent defeat.

Hospitals in Kherson have been left without electricity and families are freezing as winter sets in, a volunteer on the Ukrainian border told Woodley fundraiser Ronnie Goodberry.

The donations hub reached out to Mr Goodberry following the success of his previous appeals and due to the charitableness shown by Reading residents despite the cost of living crisis.

“It’s heartbreaking. I’m choking up just talking to you about it now,” said Mr Goodberry, who is set to travel with supplies to Ukraine in December for the third time in as many months.

“You’ve got mothers giving birth to babies with no medication, no pain relief.

“They are heating plastic water bottles in open fires to put them in between blankets to keep newborn babies warm.

“You’ve got youngsters eating a sachet of soup and that’s all they have that day.”

READ MORE: Man denies murder after death at train station

He said: “It’s an outrage. How can people live like that.”

Missile strikes in parts of Ukraine on Tuesday were described by its energy minister as the biggest barrage yet of the nearly nine-month-old invasion against the battered power grid.

The attack came as the first snow of the season fell in the capital, Kyiv, on Thursday, where the temperature fell below freezing.

Kherson residents continue to queue for food from a charity, with many saying they had nothing to eat and are making do without heating or electricity. One man said “all the fridges have defrosted, we have nothing to eat”.

Mr Goodberry has launched a fresh Reading appeal for food, flashlights, batteries, candles, blankets, sleeping bags, socks, hats and scarves.

Within 24 hours he has received 16 bags-full of donations from the Reading community.

“They just want to give, and if they can give a little bit more I would be eternally grateful. I’ve got to do something for these kids.

READ MORE: 'We have no life': How soaring bills have hit Reading residents as budget announced

He described watching videos, provided to him by the donation hub on the border, which showed nurses walking down hospital corridors with torches.

Donations can be handed to Mr Goodberry at 117 Shackleton Way, Woodley, by December 10, before he leaves for Ukraine three days later.

Despite the hardship, a small sign of a return to normality was news the first train from the capital Kyiv to Kherson would be departing on Friday night.