Russia pounded Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles Thursday, delivering a heavy blow to the country’s power grid as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepared to meet President Donald Trump at the White House to request more U.S.-made air defenses and long-range missiles.
Following a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said he and Putin will meet in Budapest, Hungary, to explore ways to end the war, though no date has been set.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he would brief Zelenskyy on the call "and much more” during their Friday meeting, adding that "great progress was made with today’s telephone conversation.”
The latest barrage left eight Ukrainian regions without power, according to national energy operator Ukrenergo.
DTEK, the country’s largest private energy company, reported blackouts in the capital, Kyiv and said strikes forced it to halt natural gas extraction in central Poltava. Ukraine’s state-owned Naftogaz said its natural gas infrastructure was hit for the sixth time this month.
Zelenskyy said Russia fired more than 300 drones and 37 missiles at Ukraine overnight.
He accused Russia of using cluster munitions and repeatedly striking the same targets to hit emergency crews and engineers working to repair the grid.
"This fall, the Russians are using every single day to strike our energy infrastructure,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram.
The Ukrainian power grid has been one of Russia’s main targets since its invasion more than three years ago. Attacks increase as the bitterly cold months approach, a Russian strategy that Ukrainian officials call "weaponizing winter.” Russia says it aims only at targets of military value.
Ukraine has hit back by targeting oil refineries and related infrastructure crucial to Russia’s economy and war effort.
Ukraine’s general staff said Thursday its forces struck the Saratov oil refinery in the Russian region of the same name for the second time in two months. The facility is located about 500 kilometers (300 miles) from the Ukrainian border. Moscow made no immediate comment on the claim.
Ukrainian forces have resisted Russia’s larger, better-equipped army, limiting it to a grinding war of attrition along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line stretching through eastern and southern regions.
But Ukraine, almost the size of Texas, is difficult to defend entirely from the air and Kyiv officials are seeking more Western help to fend off aerial attacks and strike back at Russia.
Zelenskyy was expected to arrive in the United States Thursday ahead of his Oval Office meeting with Trump on Friday.
Ukraine is seeking cruise missiles, air defense systems and joint drone production agreements from the United States, Kyiv officials say. Zelenskyy also wants tougher international economic sanctions on Moscow.
The visit comes amid signs that Trump is leaning toward stepping up pressure on Putin to break the deadlock in U.S.-led peace efforts.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday in Brussels that if Russia refuses to negotiate a peace deal, Washington "will take the steps necessary to impose costs on Russia for its continued aggression.”
Trump also said Wednesday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally assured him that India would stop buying Russian oil, denying Moscow income it needs to continue fighting in Ukraine.
Washington has hesitated to provide Ukraine with long-range missiles, such as Tomahawks, out of concern that it could escalate the war and deepen U.S.-Russia tensions.
But Trump has expressed frustration over his inability to end the war in Ukraine and increasingly describes Putin as the primary obstacle to a resolution.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said in an assessment published Wednesday that sending Tomahawks to Ukraine would not escalate the war and would only "mirror Russia’s own use of ... long-range cruise missiles against Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Economy Ministry said Thursday it signed a memorandum of understanding with U.S. company Bell Textron Inc. to cooperate on aviation technology.
The Fort Worth, Texas-based aerospace and defense company will open an office in Ukraine and establish a center for assembly and testing, while exchanging know-how and training Ukrainians in the United States, according to the ministry.
Ukraine, uncertain what it can expect from Western allies, is keen to develop its own arms industry.
On Wednesday, a Ukrainian government delegation met with American weapons manufacturers Lockheed Martin and Raytheon during a U.S. visit.