Ukrainian President Zelensky said Monday night’s attack involved over 300 drones and missiles. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the attack left 5,600 apartments without heat.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it delivered a massive strike against Ukrainian military and energy targets. “The Russian Armed Forces delivered a massive overnight strike, ground-based and airborne long-range precision weapons and attack UVAs on enterprises of Ukraine’s military-industrial sector, energy and transport infrastructure facilities used to support the Ukrainian army’s operations, ammunition depots and workshops for the production of long-range unmanned aerial vehicles,” the Defense Ministry statement explained.
The International Atomic Energy Agency Director General, Rafael Grossi, said the strikes also caused the Chernobyl power plant to lose its external power supply.
Moscow said the strikes were a “response to Ukraine’s terrorist attacks on civilian facilities on Russian territory.”
Ukraine and Russia have exchanged long-range strikes targeting energy infrastructure. Additionally, Kiev attacked one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residences.
In a statement on Monday, Zelensky said that Ukraine was reorganizing its air defenses. The Ukrainian leader explained that Kiev is preparing for more large-scale Russian attacks. He also described the situation on the frontlines as “extremely difficult.”
While the war has continued to escalate, President Donald Trump has failed to make significant progress in reaching a deal to end the conflict. A Ukrainian delegation is expected to arrive in the US later this week and will argue that Russian attacks are preventing diplomacy from developing.
Additionally, Kiev is pushing Washington to sign on to a peace proposal that has been negotiated over the past two months. However, that proposal includes many points that Moscow will reject.
The deal includes security guarantees from Western countries to Kiev. On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, “Proposals for a settlement that are based on the task of preserving the Nazi regime in that part of Ukraine that will be so-called are, of course, absolutely unacceptable.”
