Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on October 10, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleZelenskiy accuses Russia of timing energy attacks with bad weather, reducing Ukraine's air defences by 20-30%, causing power outages in Kyiv.
(Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that Russia deliberately waited for bad weather before staging a vast attack on Ukraine's energy system, adding the conditions reduced the efficiency of air defences by between 20% and 30%.
"The main assault was in four regions," Zelenskiy told reporters in Kyiv. "I believe that the weather conditions affected our capability to repel by something like 20-30%."
Russian drones and missiles struck Ukrainian energy facilities overnight, plunging parts of Kyiv into darkness, cutting power and water to homes and halting a metro link across the Dnipro river. Ukraine's energy ministry said 380,000 customers were still disconnected on Friday afternoon.
"The blow is strong, but it is definitely not fatal," he said about the strikes.
Zelenskiy said there were 203 energy facilities in the country which needed air defences to protect them from Russia.
He said Russian forces had attempted a new assault near the town of Dobropillia in eastern Donetsk region, where Kyiv has reported successes in recent weeks, but had been repelled.
"The Russians tried to stage some offensive actions," he said. "They wanted to unblock their troops, but they suffered losses and retreated."
Zelenskiy also said Ukraine was waiting for clarification of the status of 10 air defence systems promised by the U.S.
He said he hoped the "coalition of the willing", a group of countries pledged to strengthen support for Ukraine, would hold a new meeting this month.
(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa, Editing by Sharon Singleton, Ron Popeski and David Gregorio)
Air defense refers to the measures taken to protect a country or area from aerial attacks, including the use of missiles and other technologies to intercept and destroy incoming threats.
A drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that can be remotely controlled or fly autonomously using software-controlled flight plans. Drones are often used for surveillance, reconnaissance, and military operations.
An energy facility is a location where energy is produced, processed, or distributed. This includes power plants, substations, and renewable energy sites such as solar and wind farms.
A missile is a weapon that is self-propelled and guided, designed to deliver an explosive payload to a predetermined target. They can be launched from various platforms including ground, air, and sea.
A coalition in a military context refers to an alliance of countries or groups that come together to achieve a common goal, often in response to a specific threat or conflict.
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