Ukraine got no early warning from partners as Russia hits grid again – Zelensky

Russia has used ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones to launch more attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian president noted that Kyiv had again received no early warning of the attack from partner countries who in the past have shared that intelligence.

Mr Zelensky is grappling with the implications of recent Washington moves benefiting Russian President Vladimir Putin, including waiving US sanctions on Moscow and signing a deal to import Russian diesel.

In parallel, limits on Ukraine’s use of the military-grade version of US company SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service have choked Ukrainian drone operations, according to Mr Zelensky.

Also, a severe shortage of American-made Patriot air defence systems have made Ukraine more vulnerable.

Western intelligence sharing has helped Ukraine counter Russia’s devastating ballistic missiles and hold back Moscow’s invasion, which began more than four-and-a-half years ago.

US President Donald Trump says Washington has not stopped providing intelligence to Kyiv, and secretary of state Marco Rubio repeated that position on Monday.

Mr Rubio said he had no information about the previous night’s Russian attack.

The Russian nighttime barrage damaged more than 10 energy infrastructure facilities across the country, denying more than half-a-million people light, heating and running water, Mr Zelensky said on social media.

Russia fired 16 ballistic missiles at Kyiv and the region around it, he said, with officials in the capital reporting that a 21-year-old woman was killed.

The Russian defence ministry said that it carried out a “massive strike” against targets inside Ukraine, including a data centre, a logistics hub storing components for drones and cruise missiles, an industrial facility making drone components, and a locomotive depot where missiles are stored.

Mr Trump accuses Mr Zelensky of not wanting Russia’s invasion to end.

Meanwhile, Washington’s efforts to bring peace have made no progress.

Even a recent truce covering energy infrastructure that Mr Trump demanded came to nothing.

Western help has been vital for Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s bigger military, but fears have mounted in Kyiv that Mr Trump may be turning his back on Ukraine.

Mr Putin, western analysts and officials say, believes that he can wait for foreign support for Ukraine to unravel and that Russia’s bigger military will then crush Ukraine’s resistance.

“Ukraine never wanted this war, and we have welcomed literally EVERY attempt by our partners to bring this war to a dignified end. We have responded positively to EVERY ceasefire proposal,” Mr Zelensky said on Monday on social media.

“The reality is that the war continues, and it continues solely because of Russian strikes and Russia’s desire to drag this war out.”

Ukraine has held back Russia’s bigger army on the front line and has hit back with long-range strikes deep inside Russia that have struck oil refineries and brought fuel shortages.

On Sunday, Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia in one of its largest aerial attacks of the war, setting fire to an oil export terminal and a depot in St Petersburg.

Russia has sought to disrupt daily life in Ukraine and torment civilians with drone and missiles strikes that hit trains, shopping centres, petrol stations and supermarkets.

Meanwhile, US and Russian officials said on Monday that talks were continuing on the possibility of a trilateral meeting involving Mr Putin, Mr Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at an APEC summit in China next month to try to negotiate a deal on Ukraine, without Kyiv’s participation.

The possibility was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Mr Rubio said he was aware of the possibility.

“I mean, I think there’s been talks of a meeting. I don’t know if anything’s been finalised,” he told reporters.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that while the possibility of such a meeting has been mentioned, “no substantive proposals or agreements neither regarding the meeting itself nor its potential agenda and content have been discussed or put forward by anyone”.

Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha dismissed the idea of an end to the war being discussed without Kyiv officials being present, saying it would embolden Mr Putin.

“Inviting Putin to such a meeting would feed his appetite for self-aggrandisement and give him a stature he does not deserve,” Mr Sybiha said on X.

Elsewhere, Lithuania is raising alert levels at more than 15 strategic infrastructure sites after an arson attempt on Sunday at a Starlink base station in Vilnius, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius said on Monday.

European officials and law enforcement have warned repeatedly that Russia is waging a hybrid war against Europe, including sabotage, arson and vandalism, as well as influence operations.