More than 600,000 people in Ukraine have been cut off from electricity following Russian strikes on October 13 and 14, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, days after the Trump administration authorized certain transactions involving Russian diesel exports while urging Kyiv to stop attacking Russian refineries.
Zelenskyy said Russia had launched 39 ballistic missiles and more than 120 drones at Kyiv and Kharkiv, damaging at least 26 power facilities and four oil and gas sites.
He warned that power outages could spread further on Wednesday.
A ballistic missile struck Kyiv’s CHP-4 power plant on Tuesday evening, Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian energy company DTEK reported emergency power outages in several districts.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces had struck seven Ukrainian energy facilities and a data centre.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s air defences detected the missiles only as they approached the city and that international partners had provided no early warning.
Over the weekend, the Trump administration reportedly warned Kyiv and European allies that it could suspend intelligence sharing and halt European purchases of U.S. weapons if Ukraine did not stop attacking Russian energy facilities.
U.S. President Donald Trump also said over the weekend that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an energy ceasefire. Zelenskyy disputed reports of an agreement, while the Kremlin did not confirm one.
A White House official told Axios that the proposal covered only oil refineries, describing it as “refinery for refinery.” Zelenskyy said on Monday that Russia had already violated the proposed arrangement.
In a social media post on October 9, Trump outlined plans for Russian diesel supplies of 300,000 metric tons immediately, 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons thereafter.
The post did not mention a ceasefire or a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure.
The Kremlin’s account of a call with Trump, as reported by Reuters, made no reference to an agreement by either side to stop such attacks.
On October 10, Trump blamed Zelenskyy for high diesel prices, saying the Ukrainian leader “wants to make problems for our farmers, our ranchers with diesel fuel.”
“Don’t hit refineries. There’s plenty of targets,” Trump told reporters. He also said: “I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal.”
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