Russian drone and missile strikes wounded at least 20 people in Kyiv early Friday. The attacks damaged residential buildings and triggered blackouts across swaths of Ukraine. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko described the strikes as “one of the largest concentrated strikes” against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Russia’s Defence Ministry stated on Friday that the strikes targeted energy facilities supplying Ukraine’s military. Although it did not provide specific details about the facilities, it confirmed that Russian forces used Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and strike drones in the attacks.
Ukraine’s air force reported on Saturday that its air defenses intercepted or jammed 54 of the 78 Russian drones launched against Ukraine overnight. Meanwhile, Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed it had shot down 42 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory.
At least two people were killed and five others wounded in airstrikes on Kostiantynivka, a city in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, according to regional Governor Vadim Filashkin.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that he had a “very positive and productive” phone call with US President Donald Trump. In a post on X, Zelenskyy shared that he informed Trump about Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy system, and the two discussed opportunities to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense.
“There needs to be readiness on the Russian side to engage in real diplomacy. This can be achieved through strength,” Zelenskyy wrote.
Ukraine’s energy sector has been a key battleground since Russia launched its full-scale invasion more than three years ago. Each year, Russia has attempted to cripple the Ukrainian power grid before the onset of the bitter winter season, seemingly aiming to erode public morale. Winter temperatures in Ukraine run from late October through March, with January and February being the coldest months.
In his nightly address on Friday, Zelenskyy said Russia was taking advantage of the world’s attention being “almost entirely focused on the prospect of establishing peace in the Middle East.” He called for strengthening Ukraine’s air defense systems and implementing tighter sanctions on Russia.
“Russian assets must be fully used to strengthen our defense and ensure recovery,” he stated in a video posted to X.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz issued a joint statement on Friday expressing readiness to use “in a coordinated way, the value of the immobilized Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine’s armed forces and thus bring Russia to the negotiation table.”
The statement added that they aimed to undertake this “in close cooperation with the United States.”
Ukraine’s budget and military needs for 2026 and 2027 are estimated to total around 130 billion euros (USD 153 billion). Since the war started in February 2022, the European Union has already contributed 174 billion euros (about USD 202 billion).
The largest pool of available funds lies in frozen Russian assets, most of which are held in Belgium—around 194 billion euros (USD 225 billion) as of June—and outside the EU in Japan, with around USD 50 billion. The United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada also hold lesser amounts.
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