Zürcher Nachrichten - Ukraine facing 'massive' Russian attack on energy sector

Russia has escalated its strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, plunging hundreds of thousands into temporary blackouts as temperatures hit -5 degrees Celsius (23 Fahrenheit).

To fend off the strikes, Ukraine has been pleading for more air defence from its Western allies, amid fears support will soon be reduced when US president-elect Donald Trump takes office.

"The enemy continues its terror. Once again, the energy sector across Ukraine is under massive attack," Energy Minister German Galushchenko said.

"Engineers are taking all the necessary measures to minimise the consequences," he said after explosions were reported in a few regions.

The air raid alert was announced at 7:00 am (0500 GMT), with social media channels that monitor threats reporting cruise and hypersonic Kinzhal missiles over several regions of Ukraine.

Ukraine's neighbour Poland said it placed its army on "high readiness" due to the threat of an attack.

Russia has conducted at least 11 large-scale strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure since the beginning of the year, Kyiv says.

To manage the power deficit, Ukraine's energy operator has been implementing hours-long outages, and it announced increased restrictions on Friday.

Moscow has previously acknowledged striking Ukraine's energy sites but says they are legitimate targets as they "support the Ukrainian defence industry enterprises".

The latest strike comes a day after the Kremlin said it would "definitely" respond to a Ukrainian attack on a southern airfield using US-supplied ATACMS missiles.

President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview published Thursday that he disagreed "very vehemently" with Ukraine firing American-supplied missiles deep into Russia.

But Trump insisted he would not abandon Ukraine as US support for Kyiv would be key leverage in efforts to bring the war to a close.

Trump has boasted he would end the war swiftly, raising fears he might force Ukraine into a deal on Russia's terms.

- 'Deprive us of energy' -

Ukrainian officials urged allies to send more air defence to fend off the strikes on energy infrastructure.

Kyiv has repeatedly denounced the attacks on its energy system as attempts to break the population's morale.

"Russia aims to deprive us of energy. Instead, we must deprive it of the means of terror," Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said on social media.

He said Ukraine needed 20 NASAMS, HAWK or IRIS-T air defence systems.

French President Emmanuel Macron called Thursday for a path to end the war that takes into account the interests of both Kyiv and the European Union, saying the former's sovereignty and the latter's security were at stake.

During a meeting in Poland with Prime Minister Donald Tush, the two leaders also discussed the possibility of stationing foreign troops in Ukraine in case of a ceasefire, Tusk said.

Macron did not publicly mention the possibility of foreign peacekeepers, but in February he floated the idea of Western troops in Ukraine.

Asked about the proposal on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: "Frankly, we can think and work on Emmanuel (Macron)'s position".

T.Gerber--NZN