President orders boost to mobile air defence units, citizen support
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a conference call during which he heard reports from all regions following a massive Russian strike.
"The Russians used more than 400 drones, a significant share of them Shahed UAVs. There were also nearly 40 missiles of various types. Unfortunately, there has been significant damage to energy facilities, which has affected the energy situation virtually across the entire country: there are major power outages. This reflects Russia's overall attitude to the situation and its true intentions. As of today, Russia is not demonstrating readiness to end this war in the near future, and both from the perspective of the frontline and such massive strikes, Russia continues a policy of effectively destroying Ukraine," Zelenskyy said on Telegram following the meeting.
He said the Russians deliberately struck, among other things, energy facilities on which the operation of Ukrainian nuclear power plants depends, posing a threat not only to Ukraine’s security but also to the shared security of the region and Europe.
"We believe that partners in the United States, Europe and other countries that want peace must look at this soberly and act accordingly. Real pressure on Russia is needed so that real changes appear in its intentions and overall prospects," the president said.
During the meeting, participants discussed in detail the situation with energy supply in Kyiv, Kyiv region, Kharkiv and Kharkiv region, Chernihiv and Chernihiv region, Sumy region, Poltava region and other regions. It was noted that everywhere the necessary forces were engaged to deal with the consequences of the strike and restore supply. Ukraine's Interior Ministry is creating additional teams to carry out rapid work at energy facilities in western regions.
"There was a fairly tough discussion about the work of mobile fire groups, and in the coming days regional heads, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine must ensure additional strengthening of the mobile fire group component within the overall protection system of designated regions. I also expect an expansion of programmes to support people, and the Ukrainian government has received specific tasks. Ukrainian diplomats must also step up their work with partners on support packages for our air defence and energy resilience," Zelenskyy said.