Ukraine is racing to avert a nationwide blackout as Russian missile and drone attacks intensify ahead of winter, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warning that every power plant has been damaged.
Speaking at the Ibero-American Summit in Madrid on Thursday, Zelenskyy said the strikes had left energy workers carrying out round-the-clock repairs to keep electricity flowing. He appealed for urgent supplies of transformers, cables, generators and other electrical equipment.
Ukraine is seeking transformers from Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia, cables from Chile, and electrical equipment and generators from Spain. Zelenskyy urged governments to put Kyiv in touch with companies capable of supplying compatible equipment without delay.
The appeal followed a massive wave of Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Tuesday. Zelenskyy said Moscow launched 289 drones, 17 ballistic missiles and 59 cruise missiles, striking power plants and substations from the Black Sea port of Odesa to the western city of Rivne.
Ukrainian officials said the attacks caused power outages in Kyiv and at least six other regions.
“It is very telling that all of this is happening on the day of the U.S. congressional elections,” Zelenskyy said, as he pressed for more air defence systems.
Ukraine has also continued its long-range strikes against Russia’s energy infrastructure.
Russia’s Ryazan oil refinery, south-east of Moscow, appeared to have been hit in a major drone attack overnight on Wednesday into Thursday, according to an analysis of video footage showing strikes on industrial sites in the city.
Meanwhile, Russian attacks have also taken a heavy toll on civilians.
Police in the Zaporizhzhia region said on Thursday that 42 people had been killed in Monday’s Russian bombing of a school serving as a humanitarian aid distribution centre in the village of Komyshuvakha. Dozens remained missing.
The school, about 17 kilometres from the nearest Russian positions, was no longer used for classes but provided shelter and distributed aid every Monday, Zelenskyy said.
According to the Ukrainian president, Russian forces initially struck the building as residents gathered to collect aid, before bombing the shelter where people had sought refuge.
Both Moscow and Kyiv deny deliberately targeting civilians.
The intensifying attacks come just days before U.S.-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine, scheduled for 10–11 November in Abu Dhabi.
Zelenskyy has said Ukraine will make a proposed ceasefire covering energy infrastructure a key priority during the negotiations.
A Kenyan court has sentenced cult leader Paul Mackenzie to 200 years in prison over the deaths of 190 children in one of the country's worst cu...
Abu Dhabi’s ADIPEC 2026 has closed after four days, with a record $67 billion in deals, 240,000 attendees and its largest exhibition yet, hig...
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he would support states seeking to generate wealth through artificial intelligence, pledging to work wit...
Romanian authorities said late on Thursday that two additional planes had received bomb threats including a KLM flight to Tel Aviv that had a layover in Bucharest.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance has blamed the war with Iran for the Republicans' defeat in the 2026 midterm elections, arguing that voters who supported President Donald Trump in 2024 turned to the Democrats because of foreign policy and economic concerns.
The war between Russia and Ukraine continued to claim civilian lives this week even as diplomatic activity intensified ahead of planned peace discussions in Abu Dhabi.
A British healthcare worker who contracted Ebola while working in the Democratic Republic of Congo is being transferred to the United Kingdom for specialist medical care, according to British authorities.
Elon Musk was not on the ballot in Tuesday’s U.S. midterm elections, but he emerged as one of the biggest losers after Democrats swept to victory, threatening his political influence and exposing his business empire to greater scrutiny.
A Kenyan court has sentenced cult leader Paul Mackenzie to 200 years in prison over the deaths of 190 children in one of the country's worst cult-related tragedies.
Abu Dhabi’s ADIPEC 2026 has closed after four days, with a record $67 billion in deals, 240,000 attendees and its largest exhibition yet, highlighting the global energy industry’s focus on security, investment and artificial intelligence.
Two people, including a child, were killed and 16 others injured when an intercity bus crashed in eastern France on Friday morning, authorities confirmed.
Pope Leo XIV has started a 12-day tour of South America, just weeks after undergoing surgery for lung cancer. He will visit Argentina, Peru and Uruguay as part of the trip.
Germany is deploying around 1,800 troops and more than 750 vehicles to Lithuania for a major military exercise aimed at testing its ability to rapidly reinforce NATO’s eastern flank amid security concerns over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment