Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that electricity imports and additional electricity equipment must be accelerated as Russian Attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure The country has been left with the worst energy crisis since the war.
In a social media post on Saturday, Zelensky said the capital Kyiv and Kharkiv and Zaporizhia regions were particularly hard hit by power outages linked to intensified Russian attacks.
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“We need to speed up the increase in electricity imports and the provision of additional equipment from partners,” he said. “All decisions for this are already in place and the increase in imports must go ahead without delay.”
The Ukrainian government An energy emergency has been declared as the damaged power grid meets only 60 percent of the country’s electricity needs.
The situation has been exacerbated by exceptionally cold temperatures, leaving families in Ukraine struggling to stay warm.
Since invading its neighbor in February 2022, Russia has regularly targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in winter to pressure Ukraine’s leaders to accede to Moscow’s demands.
The United Nations and other observers have condemned this year’s Russian attack on Ukraine’s energy, stressing that children and the elderly are most vulnerable.
Russia’s attacks are causing “terrible human suffering”, NATO chief Mark Rutte said earlier this week, adding that “the military alliance is committed to ensuring that Ukraine receives the critical support it needs to defend itself today and eventually achieve lasting peace”.
Thousands without power
Zelenskiy said 400,000 people in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, were experiencing “difficulties with electricity” after overnight Russian attacks.
Three people were injured in a Russian attack on a critical infrastructure center in the city’s industrial district on Saturday, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
“We are talking about a serious strike on that system Keeps the city warm and light,” he wrote in a telegram, adding that the system “continually operates within its limits.”
Each new strike, Terekhov added, means “it will be more difficult to maintain stable supplies and the recovery will be longer and harder”.
Officials also said 56,000 households in the Bucha region outside Kiev were without power after the latest Russian attacks.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy says there are power restrictions in most regions of Ukraine.
“Due to the continued massive attacks by the Russian Federation, a state of emergency has been declared in the Ukrainian energy sector,” the ministry said.
Ukrainian negotiator in the US
Meanwhile, Ukrainian negotiators arrived in the United States on Saturday for a second round of talks with senior members of President Donald Trump’s administration, who are pushing for a deal to end the nearly four-year conflict.
Kyrillo Budanov, head of Zelensky’s office, said the delegation will meet with US Ambassador Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll.
“Ukraine wants a just peace. We are working to achieve results,” Budanov said in a post on the Telegram app.
Zelensky said the team’s main task in the US was to “present a complete and accurate picture of what is driving Russian attacks” in Ukraine.
“Among the consequences of this terror is the discrediting of the diplomatic process: public confidence in diplomacy is reduced, and the limited opportunities for dialogue that previously existed due to Russian attacks continue to diminish,” he said on social media.
“The American side should understand this.”
Ukraine and the US have drafted 20-point peace proposalBut Russia has yet to comment as Washington’s efforts to end the fighting have so far failed to reach an agreement.
The Russian government has made several demands in recent months, including territorial concessions and assurances that Ukraine will not seek NATO membership.
On Saturday, Zelensky again blamed Moscow for the lack of progress. “Ukraine has never been and will never be an obstacle to peace, and it is now up to our partners whether diplomacy moves forward,” he said.