Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles toward Ukraine overnight into Saturday, temporarily cutting off power to a nuclear power plant in one of several regions that were attacked.
The latest Russian attack targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as the war-torn nation meets with the United States to secure peace and end the nearly four-year-old war.
“The main targets of these strikes, once again, were energy facilities,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said early Saturday. “Russia’s aim is to inflict suffering on millions of Ukrainians, and they stoop so low as to launch missiles at peaceful cities on St. Nicholas Day. That is exactly why additional pressure is needed.”
Zelensky has been calling for sanctions against Russia and urging allies to help bolster his nation’s air defense systems. He thanked everyone for working toward these goals.
Russia used 653 drones and 51 missiles in the overnight attack on Ukraine, triggering air raid alerts across the country. Ten regions came under fire, according to Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko.
The official said there were direct hits on residential buildings, energy facilities, and railways and also large fires that broke out at warehouses.
Ukraine fired aerial projectiles in return, but Russia’s Ministry of Defense said 116 Ukrainian drones were shot down by its air defenses.
In Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, a nuclear power plant temporarily lost all off-site power. The plant is located in an area that falls under Russian control. Although it remains out of service, the facility needs power to cool its six shutdown reactors and spent fuel in order to prevent any nuclear accident.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been out of service since late 2022, months after Russia invaded Ukraine in February that year. Russia has not moved to restart the plant despite its stated desire to do so, according to United Nations officials.
TRUMP NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY PUTS ENDING RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR AS ‘CORE INTEREST’
Ukrainian officials are meeting with President Donald Trump’s advisers for a third day of peace talks on Saturday. Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Ukrainian negotiators Rustem Umerov and Andriy Hnatov in Florida this week.
In a joint statement, both sides said that “real progress toward any agreement depends on Russia’s readiness to show serious commitment to long-term peace.” So far, progress has been slow on finalizing the security framework for a post-war Ukraine because of persistent Russian aggression.