Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of trying to “plunge Kyiv and the entire country into a blackout”, after a major attack overnight on energy infrastructure in the capital and a bridge over the Dnipro River.
Ukraine’s president said Moscow’s preparations for peace talks next week involved pummelling a city of millions with ballistic missiles.
Negotiators from Russia, Ukraine and the US are due to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, for talks aimed at ending the war.
Zelenskyy appealed to the US Congress – won by the Democrats in the midterm elections – to pay more attention to Ukraine in the face of relentless Russian bombardment. “Ukraine must not be left alone. We are counting on increased bilateral support from the US,” he said.
Russia used ۱۷۲ drones and ۳۶ ballistic missiles in its latest attack on Kyiv and surrounding regions. The city faced serious difficulties with its electricity, water and heat supplies, Zelenskyy said, with five people injured including a ۱۴-year-old girl.
The strikes targeted substations in five regions, including one connecting two nuclear power plants to Kyiv. The city’s Northern Bridge, a key transport artery, was closed on Saturday as workers repaired damage to the road’s surface and power lines.
The attacks cap a dire week for residents in Kyiv, who have experienced day-long power cuts and interruptions to the water supply. Ukrainian officials say the Kremlin’s goal is to freeze civilians into submission over the brutal winter months, a war crime.
They have little confidence that US-backed peace talks will yield concrete results. In an interview with CNN, Zelenskyy described the latest blueprint set out by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, as “Yalta ۲.۰” – a reference to the ۱۹۴۵ summit between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill that divided postwar Europe.
In a series of social media posts, Kushner said the discussions would include a new security framework for Europe, alongside guarantees for Ukraine. This appears to be a reference to the Kremlin’s longstanding demand that Nato’s expansion across Europe be reversed.
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Speaking on Friday, Trump said a “big beautiful agreement” could be close, involving “all of Europe”. Shortly before invading Ukraine, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, demanded that Nato go back to its pre-۱۹۹۷ posture – before the Baltic states and nations in eastern Europe and the Balkans joined.
Ukraine and its European partners are deeply sceptical. “The idea of discussing European-Russian security infrastructure is not simple, and it can be dangerous,” Zelenskyy told CNN, emphasising: “We don’t want to be divided by Russia.”
Zelenskyy said Moscow had to end its war first, with Ukraine given meaningful security guarantees. After that, “depending on the answers”, wider security architecture could be considered, he said. Western diplomats say agreeing to Russia’s demands would effectively end Nato.
Russia’s defence ministry, meanwhile, said its strikes early on Saturday were against energy and transport targets. Since the summer, it has dramatically stepped up air attacks on Ukrainian cities, as its progress on the frontline has stalled. Last month Russia lost ۵۴,۰۰۰ troops, killed or injured, according to Kyiv – the highest monthly loss in the war.
