Oct 23, 2025
3 min read
As temperatures drop in Ukraine, Russia has stepped up drone attacks on electrical equipment that powers millions of homes across the country.
As temperatures cool in Ukraine, Russia has stepped up drone attacks on energy facilities that power millions of homes across the country.
There are signs that the Russian military is repeatedly striking the same areas to aggravate the suffering of the population.The northern regions of Chernihiv and Sumy - which border Russia and Belarus - have seen continued attacks over the past month.
Thousands of people were left without power or water in Cruehiv on Sunday after more than 50 planes and missiles fired large objects at night.
Later on Tuesday, about 20 Russian drones targeted the city, killing two men and two women, according to reports.
Russia has targeted chernihiv chernih electricity infrastructure in recent months, according to regional energy companies.
Russia also launched a massive attack on October 10 in several regions, including energy facilities in Kyiv.
"Russian tactics are killing people and terrorizing in cold blood," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday.
And Ukrainian saw another new Russian tactic.
"Russia is deliberately launching drones that constantly circle damaged facilities, making it impossible to carry out missions safely and deliberately prolonging the humanitarian crisis," Ukraine's Energy Ministry said on Tuesday.
Russia uses a combination of drones and missiles in its attacks on energy infrastructure, which sometimes defeat Ukraine's air defenses. In Sumy, which borders Chernihiv, power has not yet been fully restored in and around Shostka after strikes two weeks ago.
After the latest strikes, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiha called on the Ukrainians to "provide additional assistance to Ukraine's stability: from energy equipment to energy sources and air defense capabilities."
"There are 203 key facilities in Ukraine that we need to protect air defense systems," Zelinsky said earlier this month, "most of them will be powered by electricity, gas and water."
The Ukrainian government's response to Russia's escalating offensive has been two-pronged: more and better air defenses and long-range missiles to intensify Ukraine's own attacks on critical Russian infrastructure.
Later on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said Ukraine had targeted Russia's chemical plant in Bryansk - which produces gunpowder and other explosives - with a long-range Storm Shadow missile.Without naming the facility, the regional governor of Bryansk claimed on social media that Russia had "detected and destroyed 57 enemy aircraft-type UAVs" during the attack on Ukraine on Tuesday.Russian Defense has reached out to the ministry for comment.
However, Ukraine's air defenses are still lacking, as expected from Kiev.
"Just a few weeks ago, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin put real pressure on Tumnomasi's request, said Zelenskape in Snow. "When the pressure is easy, Russia starts trying to jump on the diplomatic bandwagon."
Ukrainian officials are concerned that US President Donald Trump is again sharply criticizing Kiev ahead of a possible summit with Putin in Budapest.
A Ukrainian source described Friday's meeting with Trump at the White House as tense — though generally constructive.Zelenskiy himself said that "after much discussion" they agreed that the starting point for any ceasefire would be "where we stand on the contact line, provided that all sides understand what that means".
In less than a month, Trump believes that Ukraine can recover all the territory you lost.
I-Zelensky Amexlo Russian in Russian
It is not the first time that Zelenskiy has turned to Europe for support and will meet with European leaders on Thursday.
“Russia's shocking tactics have shown time and time again that Ukraine is the only party serious about peace,” Zelensky and the continent's 10 leaders said Tuesday.
"We are taking steps to use the full value of the Russian real estate owner's assets, which is required by Ukraine," they said in a joint statement.
Around $200 billion in Russian assets in Europe have been frozen and the European Union is exploring ways to use some of them as loans to Ukraine.German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said last week that he was calling on the EU to grant Ukraine a 140 billion euro ($163 billion) loan to finance its military operations.
The Kremlin described Russia's idea of Russian rights as a duty.
Zelenskyy suggested that part of the frozen assets would be used to finance purchases of Patriot air defense batteries and long-range missiles.His goal is to procure 25 Patriot systems, but he admitted that would take years rather than months.
Green and Ukrainian European allies are also wary of a meeting in Budapest hosted by Putin's closest European ally, Viktor Orban - although the Kremlin said on Tuesday that the venue and date had not been confirmed.
"I don't believe that a prime minister who defends Ukraine anywhere has anything good for Ukrainians or even gives a balanced gift," Zelensky told Say Sunday.
According to Tatyana Stanovaya, an analyst of the bravery of Berlin's badgers for international peace, Putin's strategy has a clear outline.
"Every time Trump gets angry or frustrated with Russia, Moscow turns," Stanovaya wrote on X Tuesday.
After Patin's conversation with Trump on the campus of Zalensky's journey to Washington "Warning to Review Russian.
Asked on Sunday how he will respond if a meeting in Budapest is still bad, the President of Ukraine answered: "Even if it is healthy as it seems."
