At least 600,000 people across Ukraine are now without electricity after deadly overnight Russian missile and drone strikes, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. He said critical energy infrastructure had been hit in Kyiv, the surrounding capital region and the north-eastern city of Kharkiv. His account came despite US President Donald Trump’s claim on Sunday that an energy ceasefire was in place between Moscow and Kyiv.
Ukraine’s state emergencies service, DSNS, said at least three people were killed and 21 injured in Kyiv. Rescuers were pictured working at the site of a strike on a residential building in the capital.
Moscow and Kyiv give differing accounts of overnight strikes
Russia’s defence ministry described its overnight strikes as “massive” and said they had targeted communications and energy facilities in the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions that Ukraine’s military uses. The ministry also said 902 Ukrainian drones had been shot down overnight over several Russian regions, including Moscow and Crimea, the southern peninsula Russia annexed in 2014.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia had launched 39 ballistic and cruise missiles and 128 drones overnight. It reported that four of the missiles and 115 of the drones were shot down.
Disputed energy ceasefire and Russia’s position on a truce
Trump posted on social media on Sunday that an energy ceasefire was in effect immediately and that both parties had agreed to it, urging them not to break it. Zelensky has since said Ukraine is ready to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries and other energy facilities if Moscow does the same. He also said six Ukrainian energy sites had been hit by Russia since Trump announced the ceasefire.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said Ukraine does not deserve the “respite” a ceasefire would bring. He added that under any truce, Europe would be able to “pump [Ukraine] with new weapons” so the war could continue. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.
