Kyiv, Oct 19 : Russia used ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones to launch more attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday, noting that Kyiv again received no early warning of the attack from partner countries who in the past have shared that intelligence.
Zelenskyy is grappling with the implications of recent Washington moves benefiting Russian President Vladimir Putin, including waiving U.S. sanctions on Moscow and signing a deal to import Russian diesel.
In parallel, limits on Ukraine’s use of the military-grade version of U.S. company SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service have choked Ukrainian drone operations, according to Zelenskyy. Also, a severe shortage of American-made Patriot air defense systems have made Ukraine more vulnerable.
Western intelligence sharing has helped Ukraine counter Russia’s devastating ballistic missiles and hold back Moscow’s invasion, which began more than 4 ½ years ago.
US President Donald Trump says Washington hasn’t stopped providing intelligence to Kyiv, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio repeated that position Monday.
Rubio said he had no information about the previous night’s Russian attack.
Russian barrage hammers power grid, kills 21-year-old woman
The Russian nighttime barrage damaged more than 10 energy infrastructure facilities across the country, denying more than a half-million people light, heating and running water, Zelenskyy said on social media.
Russia fired 16 ballistic missiles at Kyiv and the region around it, Zelenskyy said, with officials in the capital reporting that a 21-year-old woman was killed.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that it carried out a “massive strike” against targets inside Ukraine, including a data center, a logistics hub storing components for drones and cruise missiles, an industrial facility making drone components, and a locomotive depot where missiles are stored.
Zelenskyy says Ukraine has made every diplomatic effort to end the war
Trump accuses Zelenskyy of not wanting Russia’s invasion to end. Washington’s efforts to bring peace, meanwhile, have made no progress. Even a recent truce covering energy infrastructure that Trump demanded came to nothing.
Western help has been vital for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s bigger military, but fears have mounted in Kyiv that Trump may be turning his back on Ukraine.
Putin, Western analysts and officials say, believes that he can wait for foreign support for Ukraine to unravel and that Russia’s bigger military will then crush Ukraine’s resistance.
“Ukraine never wanted this war, and we have welcomed literally EVERY attempt by our partners to bring this war to a dignified end. We have responded positively to EVERY ceasefire proposal,” Zelenskyy said Monday on social media.
“The reality is that the war continues, and it continues solely because of Russian strikes and Russia’s desire to drag this war out.”
Ukraine has held back Russia’s bigger army on the front line and has hit back with long-range strikes deep inside Russia that have struck oil refineries and brought fuel shortages.
On Sunday, Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia in one of its largest aerial attacks of the war, setting fire to an oil export terminal and a depot in St. Petersburg.
Russia has sought to disrupt daily life in Ukraine and torment civilians with drone and missiles strikes that hit trains, shopping malls, gas stations and supermarkets. (AP)
