Kyiv blackouts and water shortages after Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid, Digi Mart USA News (Kyiv, Ukraine): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of trying to “plunge Kyiv and the entire country into a blackout” after a major overnight attack on energy infrastructure in the capital and on a bridge over the Dnipro River.
Zelenskyy said Moscow’s preparations for peace talks next week involved pummelling a city of millions with ballistic missiles. Negotiators from Russia, Ukraine and the United States are due to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, for talks aimed at ending the war.
Zelenskyy also appealed to the US Congress, which the Democrats won in the midterm elections, to pay more attention to Ukraine in the face of relentless Russian bombardment. “Ukraine must not be left alone.
We are counting on increased bilateral support from the US,” he said.
Russia used 172 drones and 36 ballistic missiles in its latest attack on Kyiv and surrounding regions. Zelenskyy said the city faced serious difficulties with its electricity, water and heat supplies, and five people were injured, including a 14-year-old girl.
The strikes targeted substations in five regions, including one connecting two nuclear power plants to Kyiv. The city’s Northern Bridge, a key transport artery, was closed on Saturday while workers repaired damage to the road surface and power lines.
The attacks follow a dire week for Kyiv residents, who have experienced day-long power cuts and interruptions to the water supply. Ukrainian officials say the Kremlin’s goal is to freeze civilians into submission over the brutal winter months, which they describe as a war crime.
Ukrainian officials have little confidence that US-backed peace talks will yield concrete results. In an interview with CNN, Zelenskyy described the latest blueprint set out by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, as “Yalta 2.0,” a reference to the 1945 summit between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill that divided postwar Europe.
In a series of social media posts, Kushner said the discussions would include a new security framework for Europe, alongside guarantees for Ukraine. This appears to be a reference to the Kremlin’s longstanding demand that NATO’s expansion across Europe be reversed.
Speaking on Friday, Trump said a “big beautiful agreement” could be close, involving “all of Europe.” Shortly before invading Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded that NATO return to its pre-1997 posture, before the Baltic states and nations in eastern Europe and the Balkans joined.
Ukraine and its European partners are deeply skeptical. “The idea of discussing European-Russian security infrastructure is not simple, and it can be dangerous,” Zelenskyy told CNN, adding: “We don’t want to be divided by Russia.”
Zelenskyy said Moscow must end its war first, and Ukraine must be given meaningful security guarantees. After that, “depending on the answers,” a wider security architecture could be considered, he said.
Western diplomats say agreeing to Russia’s demands would effectively end NATO.
Russia’s defence ministry said its strikes early on Saturday targeted energy and transport facilities. Since the summer, Russia has dramatically stepped up air attacks on Ukrainian cities as its progress on the front line has stalled.
Last month Russia lost 54,000 troops killed or injured, according to Kyiv, the highest monthly loss of the war.
