Russian strikes killed three people in Kyiv and left hundreds of thousands without electricity overnight, Ukrainian authorities said Wednesday. President Volodymyr Zelensky described the assault as “ostentatious disrespect” toward President Donald Trump’s efforts to broker peace.
The hours-long barrage of missiles and drones focused largely on Kyiv and Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. The attacks damaged 30 energy facilities and cut power to at least 600,000 people, Zelensky said.
Trump, who lifted sanctions on Russian diesel last week in an effort to ease politically sensitive fuel prices, has said Russia and Ukraine agreed to stop targeting energy infrastructure. Neither Moscow nor Kyiv, however, has confirmed such an agreement.
“The strike was entirely deliberate and demonstrative in its scale — Russia has never before shown such ostentatious disrespect toward the United States,” Zelensky wrote on X.
“Russia does not consider the American President’s statements strong,” he added.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said Wednesday that its forces had struck four power plants in and around Kyiv and two more in Kharkiv, along with other targets.
Low missile interception rate
Ukraine said it intercepted only four of the 39 missiles launched in the attack. The figures underscored the strain on Kyiv’s air defences, which are facing fast-moving ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones amid a shortage of weapons.
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Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian cities ahead of winter as it struggles on the battlefield, raising fears of widespread power cuts and heating disruptions across the country.
Ukraine has responded by stepping up strikes on Russian oil refineries and logistics hubs in recent months. Kyiv views the attacks as one of the few ways it can retaliate after more than four and a half years of Russian bombardment.
Wednesday’s Russian assault also hit state railway facilities in five regions of Ukraine, Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi said.
Trump has blamed Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries for driving up fuel costs, particularly diesel prices. Diesel has reached record levels since his war against Iran disrupted global oil supplies.
Sources told Reuters and other news organizations that the United States had threatened to withdraw intelligence used to warn Ukraine of incoming missile attacks unless Kyiv halted strikes on Russian oil refineries.
Zelensky had previously said Ukraine received no warning from Western partners before an earlier overnight assault on the capital.
Trump said Tuesday that Washington continued to share intelligence with Ukraine.
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