Ukraine War Update: Russian Drone Strikes Hit Energy Infrastructure and Cities Amid Peace Talks Developments
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Jared Kushner has called for comprehensive multilateral talks modeled on the NATO-Russia Council to secure a post-war framework for Europe, according to a Washington Post opinion article cited by mdr.de.
Founded in 1997, the original NATO-Russia Council aimed to improve defense cooperation before being suspended following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, mdr.de reported.
European representatives will join upcoming talks in Abu Dhabi next week, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot announced, as reported by mdr.de. Meanwhile, Russia is dispatching a high-level delegation including Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, presidential aide and delegation head Vladimir Medinski, senior General Staff officer Yuri Shigarlowski, and military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov, according to Interfax details published by mdr.de.
These upcoming discussions are the first trilateral talks since February.
Russian drone strikes injured at least four people in Kremenchuk, damaging a residential building and a hotel while emergency crews rescued 15 people, regional military administrator Vitali Djakiwnytsch announced on Telegram and mdr.de reported. In the southern port city of Odessa, drone attacks targeted power distributors and energy facilities, causing electricity outages that repair teams immediately worked to address, according to regional military administrator Oleh Kiper via mdr.de.
Separately, a Russian attack on the Dnipropetrowsk region left more than 600,000 people without power after energy installations sustained damage, DTEK announced via Reuters and mdr.de. Ukrainian private energy supplier DTEK also warned residents of Kyiv that repair work on damaged substations could face delays from ongoing air raid alarms, according to dpa reporting on mdr.de.
The Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant lost its external power supply due to the disconnection of the Ferosplawna line from an unexplained cause, forcing the facility to rely on diesel generators for cooling, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the plant’s management stated according to Reuters and mdr.de.
In a separate military update cited by Ukrinform and mdr.de, President Zelenskyy stated that Russia attacked Ukraine over the preceding week using 115 missiles, nearly 1,900 guided glide bombs, and more than 3,000 combat drones.
An utterly horrific Russian attack on the settlement of Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhzhia region. Since this morning, the settlement has been hit several times by aerial bombs. The strikes targeted a school used for humanitarian purposes – people were receiving humanitarian aid… pic.twitter.com/T02r0HlNCZ
Along the frontlines, the Ukrainian General Staff logged 190 combat engagements in a single day, noting Kostyantynivka as the primary focal point with 15 registered attacks, Ukrinform and mdr.de reported.
In Russia’s Kursk border region, a Ukrainian drone strike struck a moving tractor in the village of Pervomayskoye, killing a 40-year-old man, regional governor Alexander Khinshtein stated via Reuters and mdr.de. Political scientist Elvira Rosert told mdr.de that establishing new domestic defense manufacturing sites creates a security dilemma by increasing potential targets for Russian attacks while simultaneously demonstrating strengthened national deterrence.