PA MediaRussia has attacked Ukraine’s power grid in a major overnight operation, as part of an ongoing campaign to cripple energy infrastructure before winter.
The incident came as Moscow expressed “extreme concern” over the United States potentially providing Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine.
Kyiv regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk said two employees of Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, were injured in Russian strikes on a substation in the region. Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said energy infrastructure was also attacked in the regions of Donetsk, Odesa, and Chernihiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky highlighted that Russia has launched “more than 3,100 drones, 92 missiles, and around 1,360 glide bombs” against Ukraine over the past week, and said on X: “Russia continues its aerial terror against our cities and communities, intensifying strikes on our energy infrastructure.”
He called for tighter secondary sanctions on buyers of Russian oil.
“Sanctions, tariffs, and joint actions against the buyers of Russian oil – those who finance this war – must all remain on the table,” he said.
PA MediaHe also wrote on Sunday he had a “very productive” phone call with US President Donald Trump, in which they discussed strengthening Ukraine’s “air defence, resilience, and long-range capabilities,” along with “details related to the energy sector”.
Their discussion followed an earlier conversation on Saturday, Mr Zelensky said, during which the leaders agreed on Sunday’s topics.
The phone calls came after Mr Zelensky said on Friday that he was in discussions with US officials about the possible provision of various long-range precision strike weapons, including Tomahawks and more ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles.
Mr Trump, who has been frustrated in his efforts to end the war by Russian objections, said earlier this week he has “sort of made a decision” on whether to send Tomahawks to Ukraine, without saying more. A senior Ukrainian delegation is set to visit the US this week.
In an interview with Fox News Channel’s The Sunday Briefing after his call with Mr Trump, Mr Zelensky was asked whether Mr Trump had approved the Tomahawks.
“We work on it,” he said, adding: “Of course we count on such decisions, but we will see. We will see.”
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in remarks published on Sunday that “the topic of Tomahawks is of extreme concern”.
He told Russian state television: “Now is really a very dramatic moment in terms of the fact that tensions are escalating from all sides.”
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said in comments released on Sunday that he doubts the US will provide Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles.
PA Media“I think we need to calm down in this regard, he said. “Our friend Donald… sometimes he takes a more forceful approach, and then, his tactic is to let go a little and step back. Therefore, we shouldn’t take this literally, as if it’s going to fly tomorrow.”
Ukraine’s energy sector has been a key battleground since Russia launched its all-out invasion more than three years ago.
The latest attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid came after Russian drone and missile strikes wounded at least 20 people in Kyiv, damaged residential buildings and caused blackouts across swaths of Ukraine on Friday, which Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko described as “one of the largest concentrated strikes” against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Each year, Russia has tried to cripple the Ukrainian power grid before the bitter winter season, apparently hoping to erode public morale.
Ukraine’s air force said on Saturday that its air defences intercepted or jammed 103 of 118 Russian drones launched against Ukraine overnight, while Russia’s defence ministry said it had shot down 32 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory.
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