With another harsh winter of war looming, Ukraine is seeking further sanctions and asset freezes on Russia to fend off escalating attacks.
Heavy Russian attacks continued into the night, killing at least 11 people across Ukraine and plunging more parts of the country into darkness, local officials said, as diplomatic momentum to end nearly four years of war waned.
Ukraine’s military said Saturday morning that hundreds of Russian drones and missiles fired from the air, land and sea targeted critical infrastructure, a frequent target of the Kremlin, as another bitter winter of war looms.
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Ukraine announced that its air force detected 503 air attacks launched by the Russian military overnight, including 45 missiles and 458 drones. Most of the missiles penetrated defenses and only nine were successfully shot down, while 406 of the drones were intercepted.
The Russian attack mainly focused on gas and electricity infrastructure, causing power outages in several areas.
In the frontline Zaporizhzhya region, Russian attacks in several districts during the night hit residential buildings and other buildings, killing three people and injuring six others, Governor Ivan Fedorov said.
Two more deaths were reported in two Donetsk districts, local authorities said. Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported that several high-rise buildings, homes and vehicles were attacked, and two more people were killed and 10 injured.
Kyiv Governor Mykola Kalashnik said the attack in the Vyshhorod district injured a woman and damaged civilian areas and energy infrastructure.
A Russian airstrike hit a building in eastern Dnipropetrovsk, killing at least three people and injuring 11 others, including children, local authorities said.
Governor Volodymyr Kohut reported a “massive” strike in the Poltava region, where there were also injuries, and rolling blackouts were implemented to compensate for the damaged power infrastructure.
“We need more pressure.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy renewed his call for further sanctions on Russia and a freeze on assets in the European Union by the winter, saying: “Russia’s attacks show that pressure must be stepped up further.”
“Russia’s nuclear energy is still not subject to sanctions, and Russia’s military-industrial complex is still receptive to Western microelectronics. Oil and gas trade also needs more pressure,” he said in a statement.
Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed in its latest combat report last night that it had launched a “massive attack with high-precision long-range weapons from air, land and sea platforms,” including hypersonic ballistic missiles.
According to the report, Russian air defense forces shot down two guided air bombs and 178 unmanned aerial vehicles fired by the Ukrainian military. Eight more drones were reportedly shot down just before noon on Saturday.
Violent house-to-house fighting continues in the Donetsk region city of Pokrovsk, where tens of thousands of Russian troops have gathered in a bid to gain further control of territory and “liberate” buildings occupied by Ukrainian forces for more than a year, with intense close-range clashes continuing.
Ukrainian military commander-in-chief Oleksandr Silsky said Kiev’s forces were stepping up attacks on Russian forces around the eastern Ukrainian town of Dobropylia to ease pressure on Pokrovsk.
