Zelenskyy said his team will hold talks with us as Russia bombs Ukraine’s energy grid
Ukrainian energy minister said on Friday that Russian forces target Ukraine’s energy and gas infrastructure in the latest drone and missile strikes.
Regional officials from the northeastern city Kharkiv to the western city of Ternopil reported energy and other infrastructure damage. Eight people were injured in Kharkif, and two others, including one child, were injured in Poltava, officials said.
“Russia continues its energy terror,” Energy Minister Galuschenko said on Facebook. “The energy and gas infrastructure in various regions of Ukraine are once again affected by massive missile and drone fires.”
He added: “While possible, rescue workers and power engineers are working to eliminate the consequences. All necessary measures are being taken to stabilize the power and gas supply.”
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia fired 67 missiles and 194 drones in the overnight attack, adding that it shot down 34 missiles and 100 drones.
According to the Air Force, Ukraine deployed the French Mirage 200,000 aircraft that took place a month ago for the first time to help fight back the attack. Ukraine also has Western-backed F-16 fighter jets to shoot down Russian missiles.
The first attack since the US withdraws
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for an armistice in the air and at sea, and put additional pressure on Russia.
“The first step in building a true peace should force the only source of this war, namely, Russia to stop this attack,” Zelenskyy said on the Telegram app.
Russia has previously focused missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian power sector, and has sharply stepped up attacks on Ukrainian natural gas storage facilities and production areas in recent months.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday that its troops had strikes on its so-called natural gas and energy infrastructure with long-range air, ocean and land-based precision weapons that support Ukraine’s military industrial complex.
Friday’s attack was the first massive attack since President Donald Trump’s administration suspended U.S. military aid and intelligence, which has withdrawn U.S. policy military aid and intelligence sharing under its chief predecessor Joe Biden.
Trump and his Vice President JD Vance accused Zelenskyy of insufficient support for the United States in a brilliant performance recorded in the Oval Office a week ago, despite a small number of signs of re-engagement between the United States and Ukraine this week.
Zelenskyy said Thursday afternoon that he will travel to Saudi Arabia next Monday to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and hold talks later in the week between us and Ukrainian officials.
“Ukraine is ready to pursue a path to peace, and Ukraine starts its efforts to seek peace from the first second of this war. The mission is to force Russia to stop the war.”
Trump’s special envoy has held extensive talks with Russian officials, saying he is discussing a framework for a peace agreement with Ukraine and confirms plans to meet with Ukrainians in Saudi Arabia next week.
Hungary’s Orban promises to the EU
On the battlefield, Ukrainians far outnumbered, and Russian troops advanced steadily in the eastern Donetsk region, albeit slowly, particularly with significant pressure on the Ukrainian army to try to occupy territory in the Kursk region of Russia.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its troops had occupied Andrifka village west of Moscow’s logistics center, which Moscow said was underway in early January, a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Army did not mention Andriivka’s fall into Russia. But in the evening report, it mentioned that the settlement was one of five people attacked by Russian troops in the Pokrovsk region of Donetsk.
The European Union is considering creating a more than $1 trillion aid package for Ukraine and strengthening defense spending after Donald Trump shut down military aid to Kyiv has promoted the EU’s protection from no longer relying on the United States from Russian aggression.
European leaders on Thursday supported plans to spend more on defense and continued to support Ukraine in a world where the United States supports a changing world. But the support statement comes from 26 EU countries, not all 27.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban refused to endorse the statement and said the EU could not afford the promise. Auban said the EU now wants to support Ukraine in a way, while also increasing Europe’s own defense spending, which will “destroy Europe.”
“It seems like I’ve rejected it today. But within a few weeks, they’ll be back and it turns out that these targets have no money.”
Since the war began in 2022, Auban has refused to send weapons to Ukraine and has maintained close ties with Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
