Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to “plunge kyiv and the entire country into a blackout”, after a major attack overnight against energy infrastructure in the capital and a bridge over the Dnipro River.
Ukraine’s president said Moscow’s preparations for next week’s peace talks involve hitting a city of millions with ballistic missiles.
Russian, Ukrainian and American negotiators are due to meet Tuesday and Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, for negotiations aimed at ending the war.
Zelensky called on the US Congress – won by the Democrats in the midterm elections – to pay more attention to Ukraine in the face of relentless Russian bombing. “Ukraine should not be left alone. We count on increased bilateral support from the United States,” he said.
Russia used 172 drones and 36 ballistic missiles in its latest attack on kyiv and its surrounding areas. The city is facing serious difficulties supplying electricity, water and heat, Zelenskyy said, with five people injured, including a 14-year-old girl.
The strikes targeted substations in five regions, including one linking two nuclear power plants in kyiv. The city’s North Bridge, a key transportation artery, was closed Saturday as workers repaired damage to the road surface and power lines.
The attacks cap a disastrous week for residents of kyiv, who experienced power outages and water supply interruptions throughout the day. Ukrainian officials say the Kremlin’s goal is to subjugate civilians during the brutal winter months, which constitutes a war crime.
They have little confidence that U.S.-backed peace talks will produce concrete results. In an interview with CNN, Zelensky described the latest project presented by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, as “Yalta 2.0” – a reference to the 1945 summit between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill that divided post-war Europe.
In a series of social media posts, Kushner said the discussions would include a new security framework for Europe, as well as guarantees for Ukraine. This appears to be a reference to the Kremlin’s long-standing demand to reverse NATO’s expansion across Europe.
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Speaking on Friday, Trump said a “big, beautiful deal” could be near, involving “all of Europe.” Shortly before invading Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded that NATO return to its pre-1997 position – before the Baltic states and nations of Eastern Europe and the Balkans joined.
Ukraine and its European partners are deeply skeptical. “The idea of discussing Euro-Russian security infrastructure is not simple and can be dangerous,” Zelensky told CNN, emphasizing: “We do not want to be divided by Russia.”
Zelensky said Moscow must first end its war, giving Ukraine meaningful security guarantees. After that, “depending on the responses,” a broader security architecture could be considered, he said. Western diplomats say accepting Russia’s demands would effectively end NATO.
The Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its strikes Saturday morning targeted targets related to energy and transportation. Since the summer, it has considerably intensified its air attacks against Ukrainian cities, while its advance on the front line was stalled. Last month, Russia lost 54,000 soldiers, killed or wounded, according to kyiv – the highest monthly loss of the war.
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