Russia has launched a massive assault on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, deploying hundreds of drones and numerous missiles in a major attack on the country’s power grid, authorities said Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
Emergency power outages have occurred in various regions of Ukraine, and the state-owned power company has announced that these outages will remain in effect until today, Russia Today reports.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House to request additional US-supplied air defense systems and long-range missiles.
As Trump considers Zelensky’s request for US missiles, he said after a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday that the two leaders plan to meet in Budapest, Hungary, in an effort to help end the war. However, no meeting date has been scheduled.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he would discuss his conversation with Putin “and much more” during his meeting with Zelensky on Friday, noting that “I believe a lot of progress was made with today’s phone conversation.”
According to the national energy operator Ukrenergo, there have been blackouts in eight regions of Ukraine following the latest wave of attacks. DTEK, the country’s largest private energy provider, reported blackouts in Kyiv and announced it had halted natural gas production in the central Poltava region due to strikes. Naftogaz, Ukraine’s state oil and gas company, said natural gas infrastructure had been damaged for the sixth time this month.
Zelensky on Russian strikes
Zelenskyy claimed that Russia launched over 300 drones and 37 missiles at Ukraine overnight. He accused Russia of using cluster munitions and deliberately targeting the same places repeatedly to hit emergency services and repair crews working to restore power.
Zelensky said in Telegram: “The Russians are using every day this autumn to attack our energy infrastructure.
Since the beginning of its invasion more than three years ago, Russia has consistently targeted Ukraine’s power grid. These attacks typically intensify as winter approaches, a tactic Ukrainian officials describe as “gunned winter.” However, Russia says it only attacks military targets.
In response, Ukraine is targeting Russian oil refineries and related facilities, which are vital to both Russia’s economy and its military operations. Ukraine’s General Staff said Thursday that its forces hit the Saratov oil refinery, located about 500 kilometers (300 miles) from Ukraine’s border, for the second time in two months. Russian authorities have not yet commented on the claims.
