A firefighter works at the site of an apartment building damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine
Russian forces launched a large-scale overnight missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s energy and critical infrastructure, killing at least three people in Kyiv. The attack left at least 600,000 people without electricity, Ukrainian authorities said on Wednesday.Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of disregarding the “energy ceasefire” announced by US President Donald Trump.In a post on X, Zelenskyy said Russian forces had deployed 39 ballistic missiles and more than 120 attack drones and loitering munitions against targets in Kyiv, the Kyiv region and Kharkiv.“A targeted Russian ballistic missile strike specifically against energy infrastructure – the very infrastructure covered by the ceasefire announced by the American President,” Zelenskyy wrote.He said the strikes had damaged equipment at 26 elements of power system facilities and four oil and gas sector facilities, warning that electricity outages could spread further. The attacks also caused fatalities and injuries, he added.“The strike was entirely deliberate and demonstrative in its scale – Russia has never before shown such ostentatious disrespect toward the United States. Russia does not consider the American President’s statements strong,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian president called on Washington and its international partners to respond with stronger measures, including additional sanctions against Moscow and more air defence support for Kyiv.“We ask President Trump to impose STRONG sanctions on Russia,” he said, also urging the United States to provide additional supplies of Patriot missile interceptors.
The latest assault has raised questions over the prospects for the energy truce announced by Trump on October 11.
The US president had said both sides had agreed to halt attacks on energy infrastructure, although Moscow and Kyiv had not confirmed the arrangement in the same terms.Zelenskyy had earlier claimed that Ukraine had refrained from attacking Russian oil refineries and energy infrastructure for two days after the announcement, while Russian strikes continued.Russia’s defence ministry said on Wednesday that its forces had struck four power plants in and around Kyiv and two in Kharkiv, among other targets.
Ukrainian officials also reported attacks on state railway facilities across five regions.Separately, Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, confirmed that its data centre in the Saratov region had been attacked by Ukrainian drones.“We confirm that the data processing centre was attacked. At the same time, all of Sberbank's systems and services are operating normally and without disruption,” Vedyakhin told Reuters.