More than 200,000 people in the Russian-occupied region of Zaporizhia are without electricity after the Ukrainian strike.
Two people have been killed and dozens injured in overnight Russian drone strikes in Ukraine, where attacks on energy infrastructure have caused power outages in freezing temperatures, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
In a social media post on Sunday, Zelensky said the Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhia, Khmelnytskyi and Odesa regions were targeted in an attack involving more than 200 drones.
Recommended stories
3 List of itemsEnd of list
“The situation in the energy system is difficult, but we are doing everything to restore all services as soon as possible,” Zelensky wrote on X, adding: “This week alone has seen more than 1,300 attack drones, about 1,050 guided aerial bombs and a total of 29 different types of missiles.”
Zelensky issued another call to world leaders.
“That’s why Ukraine still needs more defense – above all, more missiles for the air defense system. If Russia is deliberately pulling out of the diplomatic process, the world’s response must be decisive: more aid for Ukraine and more pressure on the aggressors.”
The attack comes a day after Ukrainian negotiators arrived in the United States for talks with President Donald Trump’s administration on how to end the nearly four-year conflict with Russia. They were expected to focus on security guarantees and Ukraine’s post-war recovery.
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.
Ukraine is also facing a severe energy crisis this winter due to Russia’s continued shelling.
Zelenskyy said on Saturday that the import of electricity and additional power equipment Need to speed up The capital, Kyiv and Kharkiv and Zaporizhia regions have been particularly hard hit by power outages.
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 infrastructure, stressing that children and the elderly are the most vulnerable.
On Sunday, more than 200,000 customers in the Russian-occupied region of Zaporizhia remained without power after a Ukrainian drone strike on Saturday, Moscow-based governor Yevgeny Balitsky said.
In a statement posted on Telegram, Balitsky said work was underway to restore power but nearly 400 settlements remained without power.
Temperatures are well below freezing throughout the southeastern region, about 75 percent of which Russia controls.