Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (l) and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, January 15, 2025 in Warsaw (AFP / Sergei GAPON)
Russia launched nearly 120 missiles and drones against Ukraine's energy network on Wednesday, a new “massive” attack, during President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Poland.
These strikes come the day after Ukraine claimed “the most massive attack” on Russian soil since the start of the war, which it said targeted industrial and military sites in several regions.
“In the middle of winter, the Russians' target remains unchanged: our energy sector. Among the targets are gas infrastructure and energy installations which ensure normal life for the population,” denounced Mr. Zelensky on social networks.
Russia has regularly attacked Ukraine's electricity network since its invasion of the country began three years ago, causing major power outages.
The Russian military said in a statement that it had attacked “critical gas and energy infrastructure that supports Ukraine's military-industrial complex.”
It fired 43 ballistic and cruise missiles and sent 74 combat drones, of which 30 and 47 were shot down respectively, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. The strikes notably targeted the regions of Kharkiv (north-east), Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk (west).
– Russian assets to arm Ukraine –
Several hours after this attack, Mr. Zelensky arrived in Poland, a key ally of Ukraine, which has just taken over the rotating presidency of the European Union.
Workers at a thermal power plant damaged during a missile attack, in an undisclosed location in Ukraine, December 5, 2024 (AFP / Anatolii STEPANOV)
“The targets (of Russia) were very close to our border with Poland,” stressed the Ukrainian head of state.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk assured that Warsaw would help “accelerate” Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
Later in the day, Zelensky urged his Western allies to spend $250 billion in frozen Russian assets to buy weapons for his country to help it fight Russian forces. .
“The strongest support to (provide) the Ukrainian army is to allocate (it) 250 billion. Ukraine will take this money, allocate a large part of it to the domestic production and import of these types of weapons that Ukraine does not possess,” he said during a press conference in the Polish capital.
In total, some $300 billion in Russian assets were frozen after the invasion of Ukraine began.
The G7 countries agreed in 2024 for a global loan of $50 billion to kyiv, financed by the interest produced by this Russian capital. Last week, the EU paid Ukraine the corresponding first three billion euros.
The support of Poland, a driving force within the EU, is very important for kyiv, particularly in the context of Republican Donald Trump's return to the White House on Monday and doubts about the sustainability of the American commitment to -towards Ukraine.
Senator Marco Rubio, designated Secretary of State by Donald Trump, called on Wednesday for “bold diplomacy” from the United States to put an end to the war in Ukraine.
During his confirmation hearing in the US Senate, he ruled that Russia could not conquer “the whole of Ukraine”, but that the latter would not succeed either in “pushing these people back to the place where they were the day before the invasion” launched in February 2022.
The Russian army, which has been advancing for more than a year in eastern Ukraine, also announced on Wednesday the capture of the small town of Ukrainka, southeast of the city of Pokrovsk, its main target in the Donetsk region.
– Vast air attack on kyiv –
As is often the case, the Polish army took off its fighter planes during the Russian strikes on Wednesday which particularly affected the Lviv region, bordering Poland.
In this territory, “two essential infrastructure sites were affected,” said its governor, Maksym Kozytsky.
The national electricity company Ukrenergo subsequently announced emergency power cuts lasting several hours in seven regions.
The Russian bombings came the day after an air attack claimed by Ukraine as having been “the largest” on Russian territory since the start of the war.
Photo taken on January 10, 2025 and released by the press service of the 24th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on January 13, 2025 of Ukrainian servicemen transporting shells in the Donetsk region (24th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces / Handout)
Oil refineries and fuel depots were targeted, as well as chemical factories manufacturing, according to kyiv, components for the Russian military sector.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, six American ATACMS missiles and six British Storm Shadow missiles were used.
Russia has promised to systematically respond to any Western missile strikes on its soil.
