Two killed, dozens wounded in large Russian drone attacks across Ukraine

Russian drone attacks have left two people dead and dozens injured in Ukraine, where power outages have been caused by freezing temperatures due to strikes on energy infrastructure, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy claimed that more than 200 drones were used in an attack on the Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhia, Khmelnytskyi, and Odesa regions in a social media post on Sunday.

According to Zelenskyy, “We are doing everything we can to restore all services as quickly as possible” despite the fact that the energy system’s situation is still challenging. “This week alone saw more than 1, 300 attack drones, around 1,050 guided aerial bombs, and 29 missiles of various types in total.”

Zelenskyy also emailed world leaders in a new way.

“That’s why Ukraine still needs more missiles for air defense systems, and more protection,” he said. The world must decide whether to support Ukraine or put pressure on the aggressor if Russia is purposefully dragging the diplomatic process.

The strikes come a day after Ukrainian negotiators arrive in the country to discuss ending the nearly four-year conflict with Russia with President Donald Trump. They were supposed to concentrate on post-war recovery and security guarantees.

Russia has yet to comment on the 20-point peace proposal that was created by Ukraine and the US, as a result of Washington’s efforts to end the fighting so far.

Over the past few months, the Russian government has pressed for assurances that Ukraine won’t join NATO and made several demands.

Russian bombardment this winter has caused an acute energy crisis in Ukraine.

According to Zelenskyy, electricity imports and additional power supplies must be made more quickly because the Kharkiv and Zaporizhia regions, which have experienced particularly severe power outages, are the country’s capital, Kyiv.

Because the country’s power grid is only able to supply 60% of its electricity needs, the Ukrainian government has declared an energy emergency.

Families all over Ukraine are struggling to stay warm because of the extreme cold that has also been contributing to the situation.

Russia has regularly targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the winter since it invaded its neighbor in February 2022 as a means of gaining Russian support for its demands.

The Russian attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure this year has been condemned by the UN and other observers, highlighting the vulnerability of children and the elderly.

More than 200, 000 people in the Russian-occupied region of Zaporizhia were without electricity on Sunday as a result of a drone strike by Ukraine on Saturday, according to Moscow-installed Governor Yevgeny Balitsky.

Balitsky claimed that while work was being done, almost 400 villages still lacked electricity, according to a statement posted on Telegram.