Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of showing disrespect towards United States President Donald Trump following a fresh wave of Russian strikes that killed civilians and disrupted electricity supplies across Ukraine.
Kyiv came under attack from ballistic missiles and drones targeting energy facilities and critical infrastructure, despite Trump’s surprise announcement of an “energy ceasefire” over the weekend.
The strikes killed four people in the Ukrainian capital and disrupted electricity supplies to at least 600,000 people after significant damage to power facilities and equipment.
Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Sergiy Koretsky, also reported ballistic missile attacks on power plants in the eastern Kharkiv region, affecting electricity and heating infrastructure.
Zelensky described the latest assault as “entirely deliberate and demonstrative in its scale”, accusing Moscow of disregarding Washington’s position.
“Russia has never before shown such ostentatious disrespect toward the United States,” he said.
“Russia does not consider the American President’s statements strong,” Zelensky added in a post on X.
DDM reports that Trump announced the proposed energy ceasefire on Sunday without prior consultation with Kyiv or Moscow.
The announcement came two days after his reported deal with heavily sanctioned Russia to supply diesel fuel drew criticism from Ukraine’s Western allies.
The US president has repeatedly criticised Zelensky over Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries and has previously suggested that the Ukrainian leader should be replaced.
A senior Ukrainian official also confirmed reports that Washington had threatened to suspend intelligence-sharing with Kyiv, which relies on the information to detect incoming Russian attacks.
The reported tensions have raised concerns about the future of intelligence cooperation between the two countries.
Ukrainian officials said air raid sirens failed to sound before explosions were heard on Monday and Tuesday nights. They attributed the incidents to the possible use of difficult-to-detect Russian missiles or technical problems.
Zelensky said on Tuesday that Ukraine had received “no early warning from our partners” about ballistic missile launches, describing the situation as “absolutely unjust”.
Separately, an aide to Zelensky said restrictions affecting some Starlink satellite internet terminals had disrupted several Ukrainian military operations.
Sergiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, said the restrictions appeared to coincide with the latest developments in the conflict.
A senior Ukrainian official told AFP that Starlink speeds had been reduced, suggesting the move could benefit Russia.
The official said reports of restrictions began on Tuesday evening and continued into Wednesday, coinciding with the latest Russian ballistic missile attacks.
However, the circumstances behind the reported restrictions and their impact on Ukraine’s military operations were not independently established in the report.
Zelensky said Ukraine remained prepared to refrain from attacking Russian energy infrastructure but accused Moscow of wasting an opportunity to reduce hostilities.
Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian power stations and heating facilities, raising concerns about energy shortages as winter approaches, when temperatures can fall to around minus 20 degrees Celsius in some areas.
Ukraine has continued to seek additional military assistance from its allies, particularly advanced air-defence systems capable of intercepting ballistic missiles and fast, jet-powered drones.
Further Russian missile attacks were reported in Kharkiv and Zhytomyr, while strikes also hit Sumy and Chernihiv.
Authorities reported two deaths in the central Dnipropetrovsk region and another in Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine.
In Russia, the governor of the southwestern Saratov region said preliminary reports indicated that a Ukrainian drone strike had killed one person in Balakovo.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said air-defence forces had intercepted nearly 500 drones heading towards the Russian capital overnight.
Russian authorities also reported that around 160 additional drones had been shot down over the Rostov region.
