Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that Russia launched a “massive” drone and missile attack on Ukraine’s energy facilities, adding that Moscow should be forced to stop the war.
“In total, the Russians used nearly 70 missiles, both cruise and ballistic, as well as almost 200 attack drones,” Zelensky said in a post on the social platform X.
“All of this was directed against infrastructure that ensures normal life,” he added.
According to Ukrainian officials, Russia targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in a large-scale missile and drone bombardment just hours after Zelensky said that talks with the U.S. on ending the three-year war would take place next week.
Throughout the conflict, Russia has attacked Ukraine’s power infrastructure. These strikes have diminished electricity production and interrupted essential heating and water services. Ukrainian authorities have alleged that Russia is “weaponizing winter” to undermine civilian morale.
Reiterating calls for a mutual halt to aerial attacks on critical infrastructure, Zelensky said Friday the first steps to restoring peace should be to stop both Russian and Ukrainian aerial and naval attacks.
“Ukraine is ready to go the way of peace, and it is Ukraine that wants peace from the very first second of this war. The task is to force Russia to stop the war,” he said.
Kyiv, Washington and Moscow have all called for ending the war over three years after it began following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
However, Ukraine’s ability to get Russia to stop these attacks may have been hampered by President Trump’s recent decision to pause intelligence sharing as well as military assistance to Kyiv following his confrontational meeting with Zelensky last week.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration confirmed that the White House paused intelligence-sharing with Ukraine in its war against Russia as part of a broader review of assistance to Kyiv.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe and national security adviser Mike Waltz confirmed that the U.S. had paused intelligence sharing in addition to military aid.
