Before the interviews planned with the United States next week, Ukraine reported on Friday that Russia had struck its energy infrastructure in a large nation band, reaching targets in five regions, damaging residential buildings and injuring residents.
The latter dam came while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepared to go to Saudi Arabia on Monday for meetings with the American envoy of the Middle East Steve Witkoff to discuss a possible ceasefire with Russia.
“The first stages to establish real peace should be to force the only source of this war, that is to say Russia, to stop precisely such attacks against life,” said Zelenskyy in his Friday article, referring to the night assault.
In articles on his social media accounts, Zelenskyy said that the Russian attack included nearly 70 cruise and ballistic missiles and nearly 200 attack drones. He said they have reached targets in the regions of Odesa, Poltava, Chernihiv, Ternopil and Kharkiv.
Zelenskyy said that many drones had been withdrawn by anti -aircraft troops and that, for the first time, French manufacturing mirage fighter were deployed in air defense, which, according to him, was particularly effective against cruising missiles. He said F-16s manufactured in the United States had also been deployed to thwart the attack.
Monday’s meeting between Zelenskyy and US officials would be the first to be the first in the controversial meeting of the White House last week with US President Donald Trump and vice-president JD Vance as journalists.
Earlier this week in a letter sent to Trump, Zelenskyy said that the way the meeting took place was “regrettable” and that Ukraine was “ready to come to the negotiation table as soon as possible”.
Witkoff told journalists on Thursday that the president said that the Ukrainian president had made amends with the declaration. He also confirmed that he would meet Zelenskyy in Saudi Arabia in order to establish “a framework for a peace agreement and an initial cease-fire also”.
Zelenskyy was in Brussels on Thursday, where he met the leaders of the European Union and the secretary general of NATO, Mark Rutte. Zelenskyy said that during the two meetings, they discussed the following steps necessary to establish lasting peace.
Zelensky also announced that he was to meet Tuesday in Paris with military leaders from countries arranged to send troops to Ukraine to ensure peace. Commenting on the meeting, Zelenskyy said: “The leaders share a clear vision that real and sustainable peace is possible thanks to the cooperation of Ukraine, all of Europe and the United States.”
Certain information for this report has been provided by the Associated Press and Reuters.
