Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke with his US counterpart, Donald Trump, for a second consecutive day on Sunday, calling the conversation “very productive.”
The pair discussed a range of topics, which were agreed on a day prior, including on defence, the use of long-range weapons such as the Tomahawk cruise missile, and Ukraine’s energy sector.
Zelenskyy also urged Trump to broker peace in Ukraine like in “the Middle East,” adding that Russia is currently taking advantage of the conflict in the region.
“Moscow allows itself to escalate its strikes, openly exploiting the fact that the world is focused on ensuring peace in the Middle East,” Zelenskyy said.
“That is precisely why no weakening of pressure can be allowed. Sanctions, tariffs, and joint actions against the buyers of Russian oil – those who finance this war – must all remain on the table,” he added.
The phone calls come as Russia continues its campaign on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Once again, Moscow targeted the Odesa region and its critical infrastructure, only a day after it struck energy facilities in the region, which resulted in blackouts in multiple towns.
Russia launched a total of 118 drones overnight, killing seven and injuring at least 23 others across Ukraine. The country’s Energy Ministry said that energy infrastructure was also attacked in the regions of Donetsk and Chernihiv, leaving some areas without water and electricity.
And in Kyiv, two employees of Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, were wounded when Russia struck a substation in the region, the city’s regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk said.
Ukraine’s energy secor has been a key battleground since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, as Moscow tries to cripple the Ukrainian power grid before the harsh winter season.
“Russia continues its aerial terror against our cities and communities, intensifying strikes on our energy infrastructure,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X, noting that Russia had launched “more than 3,100 drones, 92 missiles, and around 1,360 glide bombs” against Ukraine over the past week.