Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that Kyiv received no early warning from its international partners ahead of Russia’s latest ballistic missile attack on Monday. The overnight strikes across 11 Ukrainian regions damaged more than 10 energy facilities and left at least 5,50,000 households without electricity.The comments come as US secretary of State Marco Rubio denied that the US had paused some intelligence sharing with Ukraine.The attack, which involved ballistic missiles and drones, also killed one person and injured eight others in Kyiv, according to local authorities. The strikes damaged residential buildings, a medical facility, a school and a metro station, highlighting the continued threat to civilian infrastructure as Russia intensifies attacks on Ukraine’s energy network.In a post on X, Zelenskyy said Russia had launched 16 ballistic missiles in what he described as a deliberate attack on Kyiv and the surrounding region, alongside more than 200 drones, including jet-powered Shahed drones.“Another Russian ballistic missile attack came in several waves overnight, and once again, there was no early warning from our partners,” he said.He added that the attacks extended beyond the capital, with strikes reported across regions ranging from Kharkiv and Dnipro to Volyn, Rivne and Odesa.“Overnight and this morning, Russia attacked energy facilities in the Vinnytsia, Volyn, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Kharkiv, Ternopil, Odesa, and Rivne regions,” Zelensky said.“In this one night alone, more than 10 energy infrastructure facilities were damaged, and the lights went out for at least 550,000 families. Repair crews are working at the sites,” he added.Rubio on Monday denied that intelligence-sharing with Ukraine had been interrupted. “There’s been no pause,” Rubio told NBC in Uzbekistan, adding, “I don’t know where he’s getting these things or why he’s saying these things to the press. You should go back and ask him. There’s been no pause.”Ukraine’s Air Force said Russian forces had launched a large-scale overnight assault involving ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and 269 drones. Ukrainian air defences destroyed or suppressed 243 drones and four missiles, while strikes were recorded at 25 locations and debris fell at eight others, the force said.According to the Kyiv City Military Administration, the attack damaged a private medical facility and a metro station in the Desnianskyi district. Educational institutions and a sports facility were damaged in the Dniprovskyi district, while a fire broke out at a medical facility inside a 25-storey residential building in Solomianskyi district. Emergency services extinguished the blaze.Russia’s defence ministry also said it had carried out a “massive strike” using “ground-based high-precision weapons and strike drones”. It claimed to have hit military-industrial facilities, cruise missile storage sites and data centres in Ukraine, including locations in and around Kyiv allegedly linked to drone production and logistics.Ukraine’s deputy energy minister Artem Nekrasov said Russian attacks had targeted energy facilities in 11 regions. Rolling blackouts and electricity restrictions for industry and businesses had been introduced, he said in a post on Telegram.
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Zelensky also criticised what he described as inadequate support from Ukraine’s partners, particularly over air defence supplies and sanctions on Moscow.“Ukraine never wanted this war, and we have welcomed literally EVERY attempt by our partners to bring this war to a dignified end,” he said, adding that Ukraine had responded positively to every ceasefire proposal.“Putin not only doesn’t want to end this war – he doesn’t even want to take any steps toward de-escalation. EVERY ONE of our partners has experienced this firsthand when they heard Russia’s refusals. And it is crucial to call things what they are. To call the aggressor an aggressor and help Ukraine defend lives. When deliveries of missiles for Ukraine’s air defense are blocked while Russia is granted relief or delays in sanctions, this is, unfortunately, a denial of reality on the part of our partners”, he said.
