Ukraine-Russia War Latest: At least 7 killed as Moscow launches ‘largest missile attack in months’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked the leaders of major democracies who this week reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Ukraine.

In a post to X, he said: “As we mark the 1,000th day since Russia’s full-scale invasion, G7 leaders reiterated their unwavering support for Ukraine.

“I am deeply grateful to President of the Council of Ministers Giorgia Meloni and all the G7 leaders for raising a united voice in support of Ukraine. With their support, Ukraine will be able to protect its people from terrorism and It will save countless lives.

“At a time when Russia remains the only obstacle to a just and lasting peace, it sends a clear message that aggression and violations of the international order as outlined in the United Nations Charter will not be tolerated and those responsible will be confronted. The results are extremely important.

“Now is the time for the international community to deepen its efforts and make decisive decisions to ensure stability and peace for all countries.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the phone call with President Putin was necessary to ensure Europe remains an important player after the election of President Donald Trump.

“We cannot count on support from Germany, Europe and many other countries around the world to decline,” Scholz told President Putin in their first direct meeting in about two years.

However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said this was a violation of Western solidarity in favor of domestic political interests.

In response to Russia’s large-scale missile attack on Ukraine on Sunday night, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibikha harshly criticized Scholz, saying that the attack was due to President Putin’s “recent phone calls to President Putin.” “It was a genuine response to all the people who visited us.”

“The conversation was very detailed, but it contributed to the perception that the Russian president’s views on war have not changed much, and that is not good news,” Scholz added of the phone call.

But Donald Trump’s re-election and promise to end the war quickly will have implications for Europe, Scholz said.

“In my opinion, if you have a meeting between the presidents of the United States and Russia, and you don’t have a meeting with the leaders of important countries in Europe, that’s not a good idea,” he said.

At least seven people were killed in a massive overnight Russian drone strike across Ukraine, Kiev said was the deadliest in recent months.

Ukrainian media also reported that at least 19 people were injured.

The attack came after explosions were heard in several areas, including the capital Kiev.

Energy Minister Herman Khrushchenko said Russia was targeting “power generation and transmission facilities throughout Ukraine.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the war-torn country was facing forces of “absolute evil”.

After their first telephone conversation since December 2022, the Russian government announced that President Vladimir Putin told his German counterpart Olaf Scholz that Russia is ready to consider an energy deal if Berlin is interested. He is said to have said that there is.

“Russia has always strictly complied with its treaty and contractual obligations in the energy field and emphasized that Russia is ready for mutually beneficial cooperation if the German side shows interest,” the Kremlin statement said. It is claimed.

Germany relied heavily on Russian gas before the war, but the explosion of the Nord Stream pipeline in the Baltic Sea in 2022 halted direct transport.

Germany and other European Union countries have imposed a flurry of sanctions on Russia over the war and taken steps to wean themselves from dependence on Russian oil and gas.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has revealed details of his meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, who visited the war-torn country earlier this week.

In a post on X, Zelenskiy said the two discussed “the alliance between North Korea and Russia and support for President Putin in this brutal war.”

He added: “I informed him about the activities of North Korean military personnel in the Kursk region and the various threats posed by cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.

“Russia is teaching North Korea modern warfare, which could lead to significant and widespread destabilization. We must work with all other partners to counter this.”

When Russian tanks entered Ukraine in February 2022, the conventional wisdom was that the capital, Kiev, would fall quickly and the rest of the country would not last long against a much larger enemy. .

Instead, that story quickly fell apart. The Ukrainian military has proven that with sufficient support from the West, it can at least prevent defeat, if not completely dislodge and slow the advance of Russian forces.

One civilian was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian border region of Belgorod, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

According to Kiev, Sunday’s announcement came after Russia launched its largest missile attack on Ukraine in recent months. The attack targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he is confident the war with Russia will “end sooner” if President Donald Trump returns to the White House.

Zelenskiy acknowledged that the battlefield situation in eastern Ukraine is difficult and Russia is making progress, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin has no interest in agreeing to a peace deal.

Ukraine’s president said in an interview Saturday that he had “constructive interactions” with U.S. President-elect Trump during a phone conversation following his victory over Kamala Harris.

Read Javed Ahmed’s full report:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine was defending the country from “absolute evil” while sharing footage of the devastation after what Kiev announced was Russia’s largest missile attack in recent months. Ta.

“Russian terrorists are once again threatening us with cold weather and power outages, repeating their actions and trying to get results from them,” Zelenskiy said.

“The whole world sees and knows that we are defending ourselves from an absolute evil for which we do not understand language, only force. We need unity, and the world too. We need unity. Only together can we stop this evil.”

Zelenskiy added that Russia used nearly 140 missiles of various types, 900 guided air bombs and more than 600 attack drones.

“Efforts are underway to address the impact of the joint attack on infrastructure in the Rivne, Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk, Volyn and Odessa regions.”