Russia demonstrated its disregard for U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed energy ceasefire by launching drones and missiles against Ukraine's power grid overnight, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 14.
Moscow's forces deployed 39 ballistic missiles and over 120 drones against energy and critical infrastructure in Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast, and Kharkiv, Zelensky said, calling it "ostentatious disrespect toward the United States."
At least three people were killed, and another 22 were injured as a result of the Russian strike that hit a residential building in the Desnianskyi district and power plants elsewhere in the city, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Russia has ramped up aerial strikes against Ukrainian energy sites as winter nears, despite Trump's unexpected and unilateral announcement on Oct. 11 that both Kyiv and Moscow agreed to halt attacks against each other's energy infrastructure.
Even as Kyiv said it had halted attacks against Russian oil refineries since Trump's ceasefire announcement, Trump declined to blame the Kremlin for breaking the truce when asked by a reporter on Oct. 13.
"The strike was entirely deliberate and demonstrative in its scale," Zelensky noted, adding that at least 600,000 people are without power and reporting damage to 26 power facilities, as well as four oil and gas sites.
"Russia does not consider the American President's statements strong," the Ukrainian leader added.
The comments come as Washington piles on pressure on Kyiv to halt its aerial campaign against Russian refineries, which he linked to rising global fuel prices — a claim disputed by experts.
The Kyiv Independent has previously learned that the Trump administration threatened senior Ukrainian military and government officials with cutting intelligence sharing and arms sales unless it stopped attacking Russian refineries.
While Ukrainian and U.S. sources told the Kyiv Independent earlier this week that Washington has not yet stopped intelligence support, questions about the early warning provided by partners are mounting as strikes now hit Kyiv even before the alarm sounds.
Presidential Advisor Serhii "Flash" Beskretnov and Serhii Sternenko, an activist and former advisor to ex-Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, claimed on Oct. 14 that Elon Musk's SpaceX has limited the speed of Starlink terminals in Ukraine, causing disruption to "a number of critical missions."
"The American President has all the effective and necessary tools to bring peace closer through strength, justice, and pressure on the aggressor," Zelensky noted, urging Washington to impose sanctions on Russia under late Senator Lindsey Graham's sanctions bill and calling for additional supplies of Patriot interceptors.