Russia attacks Ukraine's power grid as Moscow worries over US Tomahawk
missiles
[October 13, 2025]
Russia attacked Ukraine’s power grid overnight, part of an
ongoing campaign to cripple Ukrainian energy infrastructure before
winter, and expressed “extreme concern” over the U.S. potentially
providing Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine.
Kyiv regional Gov. Mykola Kalashnyk said two employees of Ukraine’s
largest private energy company DTEK were wounded in Russian strikes on a
substation. Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said that infrastructure was also
targeted in the regions of Donetsk, Odesa and Chernihiv.
“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” over the
past week.
Zelenskyy called for tighter secondary sanctions on buyers of Russian
oil. “Sanctions, tariffs, and joint actions against the buyers of
Russian oil — those who finance this war — must all remain on the
table,” he wrote, adding he had a “very productive” phone call with U.S.
President Donald Trump, in which they discussed strengthening Ukraine's
“air defense, resilience, and long-range capabilities," along with
“details related to the energy sector."
Their discussion followed an earlier conversation on Saturday, Zelenskyy
said, during which the leaders agreed on Sunday's topics.
In an interview with Fox News Channel’s “The Sunday Briefing" after his
call with Trump, Zelenskyy was asked whether Trump had approved the
Tomahawks.
“We work on it,” he said. "And I'm waiting for president to yes. Of
course we count on such decisions, but we will see. We will see.”
Zelenskyy said Friday that he was in talks with U.S. officials about the
possible provision of various long-range precision strike weapons,
including Tomahawks and more ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles.
Trump, who has been frustrated by Russia in his efforts to end the war,
said last week that he has “sort of made a decision” on whether to send
Tomahawks to Ukraine, without elaborating. A senior Ukrainian delegation
is set to visit the U.S. this week.
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In this photo provided by Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade press
service, recruits attend drills at a training ground in the
Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (Andriy
Andriyenko/Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade via AP)
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in remarks published Sunday that
“the topic of Tomahawks is of extreme concern.”
“Now is really a very dramatic moment in terms of the fact that tensions
are escalating from all sides,” he told Russian state television
reporter Pavel Zarubin.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian
President Vladimir Putin, also said in comments released Sunday that he
doubts the U.S. will provide Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles.
“I think we need to calm down in this regard. Our friend Donald …
sometimes he takes a more forceful approach, and then, his tactic is to
let go a little and step back. Therefore, we shouldn’t take this
literally, as if it’s going to fly tomorrow,” Lukashenko told Zarubin,
who posted them on his Telegram channel on Sunday.
Ukraine’s energy sector has been a key battleground since Russia
launched its all-out invasion more than three years ago.
The latest attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid came after Russian drone and
missile strikes wounded at least 20 people in Kyiv, damaged residential
buildings and caused blackouts across the country Friday, which Prime
Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko described as “one of the largest concentrated
strikes” against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Each year, Russia has tried to cripple the Ukrainian power grid before
the bitter winter season, apparently hoping to erode public morale.
Winter temperatures run from late October through March, with January
and February the coldest months.
Ukraine’s air force said Saturday that its air defenses intercepted or
jammed 103 of 118 Russian drones launched against Ukraine overnight,
while Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had shot down 32 Ukrainian
drones over Russian territory.
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