Kyiv, Oct 16 (AP): Russian attacks on nine regions of Ukraine caused emergency power outages for hundreds of thousands of households and damaged numerous homes, wounding at least 15 people, officials said Friday, as civilian casualties from Russia’s invasion climb steeply.
The latest aerial strikes on civilian targets came as fears mount that a sharp deterioration in relations between Ukraine and the United States this week could leave Ukraine further exposed to Russia’s escalating aerial assaults as the bitter winter approaches.
Russia’s heavy bombardment of the power grid before winter sets in has been an annual feature of the war, aiming to wear down Ukraine’s appetite for the fight by denying civilians heating and running water. Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia is stockpiling ballistic missiles for more attacks in the coming months. Ukraine on Thursday abandoned a brief truce on energy-related targets that it said Moscow didn’t heed despite US President Donald Trump’s demand for a ceasefire.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday attended a summit of European Union leaders who share his concerns about Russian aggression and Moscow’s wider plans on the continent. The leaders in Brussels applauded Zelenskyy when he entered the meeting room, vowed to maintain support for Ukraine and urged the US to put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Tension and uncertainty are gripping Ukraine and Europe after Zelenskyy and Trump publicly made cutting remarks about each other. On Thursday, Zelenskyy said that he felt betrayed by the American president, and Trump openly declared his dislike of the Ukrainian leader, saying in an interview with Newsmax that “Zelenskyy is not a good guy for us to deal with.” Arriving at the EU summit in Belgium, Zelenskyy thanked the 27-nation bloc for its support from what he said were “real leaders.”
“We want to end this war as (quickly) as possible,” Zelenskyy told reporters, speaking in English. “We don’t see now signals from (the) Russian side that they are ready for this, to end this war. That’s why we have to prepare for the winter.”
The public spat between Trump and Zelenskyy raised the specter of further reductions in US support for Ukraine’s war effort.
Ukraine is desperately short of the US-made Patriot missiles it needs to protect against Russia’s devastating ballistic missile attacks, despite Zelenskyy’s pleading for Washington to send more. He said in Brussels that small numbers of Patriot interceptors have reached Ukraine in recent months, either bought for Kyiv from the US by European countries or provided by other countries around the world from their own stocks.
Zelenskyy complained about a breakdown in Western intelligence sharing and sudden speed restrictions on the use of Starshield, US company SpaceX’s military-grade version of the Starlink satellite internet service that is the backbone of Ukraine’s drone operations and military communications.
The Starshield limits, slowing interceptors to 70 kph (43 mph), were “a dangerous and unpleasant surprise,” Zelenskyy said in Brussels. But the high speeds needed to stop Russia’s jet-powered drones moving at more than 400 kph (250 mph) are being restored, he said.
“Have they returned to previous speed limits? No. But is it coming back? Yes,” he told a news conference.
He also slammed Trump’s diesel deal with Russia, which came despite an international effort to sanction Russia and diplomatically isolate Putin over Moscow’s invasion. Trump promised to swiftly end the war, but Ukrainian officials have complained that he’s trying to bulldoze Zelenskyy into surrendering land to Russia.
“There are so many people with good hearts in America who sincerely want evil to lose and Ukraine to stand strong,” Zelenskyy said in a speech to the EU summit. “And at the end of the day, the American people will have their say.”
The EU is working to persuade Washington to stick with Ukraine, said Kaja Kallas, the bloc’s foreign policy chief.
“We are trying to convince also our American partners that if we want to end this war then we have to squeeze the aggressor,” Kallas said. “With our American allies it’s very difficult at the moment.”
Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, whose country currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said that there’s “a lot of concern around Europe in terms of what’s happening in Ukraine right now.”
Zelenskyy told EU leaders that the war will cost Ukraine 155 billion euros (USD 174 billion) next year and that his country will need at least 70 billion euros (USD 79 billion) from Europe.
Russia is blitzing not just Ukraine’s power grid but also apartment buildings, public transportation, cargo ships, data centers and food stores.
Ukrainian civilians are paying a high price for the escalating Russian attacks, the United Nations human rights office in Kyiv said in a monthly report published Friday.
At least 328 civilians were killed and 2,105 wounded last month, a total that is 85 per cent higher than in September last year, the report said, noting that intensifying Russian attacks in October already have killed dozens of civilians, including children.
“The first two weeks of October were among the deadliest periods for civilians in years,” said Danielle Bell, the head of the UN office.
Ukraine is using domestically developed long-range drones to hit back at Russia.
The Russian Defence Ministry said Friday that its air defenses intercepted 644 Ukrainian drones overnight in multiple Russian regions, the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula and the Black Sea.
More than 200 flights out of four Moscow airports were delayed because of overnight restrictions, Russian news agency Interfax reported Friday.
Another 46 flights were delayed or canceled at St. Petersburg airport, which also faced overnight restrictions, local media reported.
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