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Energy strikes threatened
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday that Russian forces have “begun preparations to launch massive strikes against Ukraine’s energy facilities,” framing the move as retribution for Kyiv’s targeting of Russian energy infrastructure.
““begun preparations to launch massive strikes against Ukraine’s energy facilities,””
The threat was issued as Ukrainian and Russian officials described continued long-range attacks, with POLITICO reporting that Zelenskyy said a Friday warehouse attack near Kyiv killed 38 people, with 20 injured and four missing.
POLITICO also reported that the Ministry of Defense said Moscow had “(carried) out coordinated strikes” against an industrial facility in Kyiv.
In parallel, Pavlo Palisa, deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, told reporters that Russian military chiefs have been tasked by Kremlin political leaders with planning and preparing attacks on Kyiv and Chernihiv.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal told POLITICO that “Putin wants to finish off (Ukraine’s) energy system,” and that Kyiv would work on strengthening energy and infrastructure resilience to avoid a repeat of last winter’s freezing blackouts.
Tusk urges air support
Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Saturday that NATO’s Secretary-General Mark Rutte had “his assessment of the situation in the region and on the Ukrainian-Russian front” and that “the escalation from Russia’s side is progressing.”
Tusk urged, “Ukraine needs greater air support,” as the Russian announcement rekindled fears of what happened last winter, when Moscow’s bombardments of Ukrainian power plants left millions without heating or electricity as temperatures dropped below freezing.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that the number of deaths from the Russian drone attack on Saturday on a munitions depot in Myla, in the Bucha district near Kyiv, had risen to 38, with 20 people injured and four still missing.
Euronews reported that Zelenskiy noted that “the scale of contamination in the area is significant” as emergency teams worked to extinguish remaining fires and bomb disposal units cleared the site.
Euronews also said the attack caused a massive detonation and secondary explosions that sent flames into surrounding residential areas, damaged about fifty buildings, and forced the evacuation of more than 380 residents.
Escalation and diplomatic track
The Russian threat of “massive attacks” on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure came alongside claims of continued coordinated strikes targeting Ukrainian defense industry facilities, with the Russian Ministry of Defense saying it continued throughout the night to carry out such strikes.
““is proposing a realistic vision of what should be done and what should be achieved.””
In the same period, Axios reported via Al Jazeera that Washington sent a proposal to Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold a trilateral summit with President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and that the proposal was raised during a secret visit by CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Moscow at the beginning of the week.
Al Jazeera also reported that Kirelo Podanov, head of Zelensky’s office, told local media last Thursday that talks mediated by the United States with Russia could be resumed in September, while Zelensky said that the Trump administration “is proposing a realistic vision of what should be done and what should be achieved.”
On the battlefield, Al Jazeera said the Russian Defense Ministry intercepted and destroyed 494 Ukrainian drones from 8:00 p.m. yesterday to 8:00 a.m. today, and Moscow’s mayor said Russian air defenses shot down 10 Ukrainian drones aimed at the city.
Al Jazeera added that the Ukrainian Air Force said air defense forces shot down or disabled 125 drones out of 130 launched by Russian forces toward Ukraine, along with two ballistic missiles, and that the Emergency Service said a direct hit in the Obolon district caused a fire extending from the second to the fifth floors of a 12-story residential building.