Volodymyr Zelensky said that a massive Russian air attack on power plants in Ukraine showed Moscow’s contempt for Donald Trump’s energy ceasefire, as Europe threw its weight behind Kyiv.
Writing on social media on Wednesday, the Ukrainian president condemned a Russian ballistic missile strike on “the very infrastructure covered by the ceasefire announced by the American president”.
“The strike was entirely deliberate and demonstrative in its scale,” he added. “Russia has never before shown such ostentatious disrespect towards the United States. Russia does not consider the American president’s statements strong.”
Trump, who controversially lifted sanctions on Russian diesel last week in a bid to lower fuel prices, has said that both Russia and Ukraine have agreed to halt strikes on energy infrastructure, though neither side confirmed it.
Three people were killed in Kyiv overnight as hundreds of thousands were plunged into darkness, authorities said, in a missile and drone attack that damaged 30 energy facilities.
The Russian defence ministry said that it had struck four power plants in and around Kyiv and two in Kharkiv, among other targets. Ukraine, with depleted air defences, reported downing just four out of 39 missiles.
Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukrainian cities ahead of the bitter winter months, sparking fears of widespread power and heating outages across the country and piling pressure on Kyiv to make concessions in peace terms, even as Moscow struggles on the battlefield.
Trump, who has sought to mediate the conflict, tipped the scales in Russia’s favour on Friday with a deal to lift sanctions and allow Moscow to export a limited quantity of diesel, with the inflated cost of fuel weighing on the US administration ahead of the November midterms.
The US president blames Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries for the rise in fuel costs, especially of diesel, which has hit record prices since his war against Iran disrupted global oil supplies.
Insiders have since claimed that the US threatened to cut off intelligence used for early warning of missile strikes on Ukraine unless Kyiv stops attacking Russian oil refineries.
Zelensky had earlier said Ukraine had received no warning from Western partners before a previous overnight attack on the capital. But Trump said on Tuesday that Washington was still sharing intelligence.
Officials also reported that Elon Musk’s SpaceX had introduced a limit on some Starlink services in Ukraine, disrupting combat drone missions. The satellite internet terminals are vital for guiding longer-range drone strikes in the occupied south and east.
The curbs would also affect the military’s ability to intercept long-range Russian drones, Ukrainian sources told Reuters. Another source told the news agency that Ukraine was in touch with the US, SpaceX and Nato seeking clarification over the limits.
Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski responded to the concerns on social media, writing: “Hey, @elonmusk, big man, are you playing politics with your products again? As your European customers, we are watching you.”
Zelenskyy was headed to London on Wednesday for an audience with King Charles III and a meeting with British prime minister Andy Burnham as London pledges faster deliveries of air defence missiles to Ukraine.
Downing Street said that Burnham would use the meeting to “underline the UK’s rock-solid support” for Ukraine and discuss how the country can “be in the best possible position to defend itself from Russian aggression over the winter”.
Speaking at the start of Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons on Wednesday, Burnham said British support for Ukraine is “unwavering” and he had asked for further military and financial support plans to be drawn up “ready for the coming weeks”.
On the ground, Brig. Gen. Andrii Biletskyi said on Wednesday that Ukraine freed 16 villages from Russian forces in the eastern Donetsk region in its latest counteroffensive, part of what he called a major frontline pushback amid increased Russian air attacks elsewhere.
Kyiv's Third Army Corps has waged an operation, announced last month, to dislodge Russian troops north of the strategic city of Sloviansk, one of the two main bastions in Ukraine's so-called "fortress belt" anchoring its eastern defences.
Biletskyi said recent Ukrainian assaults had liberated three more villages in the area of the counteroffensive - some 30 km (19 miles) north of Sloviansk.
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