Zelenskiy says Russia shifts strikes from energy to civilian targets

(Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday that Russia has reduced the number of its strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities, but is attacking civilian infrastructure instead.

Russia and Ukraine agreed last month to a U.S.-brokered, 30-day moratorium on military strikes against energy infrastructure, but both sides have frequently accused each other since of violating it.

Zelenskiy told a press conference in Kyiv that in total, Russia was launching the same number of missiles and drones at Ukraine as before that ceasefire.

"They reduced their strikes on energy. That's a fact," Zelenskiy said.

"But I wanted us to pay attention to this – Russia did not reduce the number of strikes, that was the strategy ... by reducing (strikes on) energy, they are hitting other civilian infrastructure."

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and now holds just under 20% of its neighbour's territory.

The U.N. Security Council met behind closed doors, at Russia's request, over the energy infrastructure truce. Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused Ukraine of ignoring the ceasefire and carrying out some 120 strikes.

"Ukrainian forces have largely disregarded it, launching attacks on Russia's fuel and energy infrastructure on a daily basis," Nebenzia told reporters after the meeting.

In a joint statement after the meeting - read by Slovenia's U.N. Ambassador Samuel Zbogar - Slovenia, Denmark, France, Greece, and Britain urged Russia to agree to a full and unconditional ceasefire.

"Ukraine wants peace, and has demonstrated this by agreeing to a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire five weeks ago," Zbogar said. "At the consultations today, Russia again rejected the comprehensive ceasefire and refused to make its first step towards peace."

(Reporting by Anastasiia Malenko; additional reporting by Michelle Nichols; writing by Max Hunder; editing by Mark Heinrich and Sandra Maler)