With peace talks stalled in the war in Ukraine, attacks on energy infrastructure have intensified in recent days on both sides. The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine has announced power cuts in at least seven regions due to Russian attacks.
"Due to the difficult situation in the energy system," caused "by Russian attacks (...), emergency power cuts have been implemented this morning in the regions of Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia (for industrial consumers), and Kirovohrad," the ministry said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense has reported that its anti-aircraft defenses shot down 120 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over four of its regions and the annexed Crimea on Monday, where 54 unmanned aerial vehicles were downed. The drones attacked an oil terminal in Crimea and caused a fire in a fuel depot in Feodosia.
Due to the multiple aerial attacks, the airports in the cities of Astrakhan, Krasnodar, Volgograd, and Gelendzhik temporarily suspended their operations, which resumed once the flight security threats ceased.
Kremlin Makes No Comment on Trump's Words of Providing Tomahawk Missiles to Ukraine
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to make further comments on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump once again said he might consider supplying Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine.
Peskov reiterated Moscow's position that the use of such weapons would entail direct U.S. involvement. Earlier, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned that supplying these missiles "could end badly for everyone, especially for Trump."
Russia Claims Its Troops Captured Two Villages in Eastern Ukraine
The Russian Ministry of Defense has reported that its forces have captured the village of Borivska Andriivka in the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv and the village of Kulykivske in the Donetsk region.
Poland Accuses Russian Couple of Spying for Moscow
Polish prosecutors have accused two Russian citizens of spying for Russian intelligence services and one of them of planning to send a package with explosives, prosecutors said on Monday, as reported by Reuters.
European authorities remain on high alert for explosive packages following a series of explosions in July 2024 at courier depots in the United Kingdom, Germany, and near Warsaw. Western officials attributed those incidents to Russia. Moscow denies these accusations.
One of the Russians, identified as Igor R. according to Polish privacy laws, was charged with participating in a plot to send a bomb by mail, a case in which a Ukrainian citizen was also charged earlier this year. Igor R. and his wife, Irina, were also accused of providing information to Russian intelligence about Russian opposition activists residing in Poland, as well as individuals and institutions supporting them.
FSB Claims to Have Thwarted an Attack on a Senior Russian Military Officer
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has reported that it thwarted an attack on a senior Russian Defense Ministry official organized by Ukrainian secret services in collaboration with the Islamic State.
The FSB "prevented sabotage and a terrorist attack against a senior official of the Russian Ministry of Defense, organized by Ukrainian special services in collaboration with leaders of the international terrorist organization Islamic State," the press release from the Federal Security Service stated.
In Moscow, the FSB added, three Russian citizens "involved in concealing evidence of the planned crime" were detained, along with an individual from one of the Central Asian countries, the direct perpetrator of the terrorist action.
The attack was planned to be carried out in a densely populated area of the capital with an explosive device powerful enough to kill or injure people within a 70-meter radius. The FSB indicated that Ukrainian secret services sent the explosives to Russia using aerial drones.
Orbán Hopes Trump Achieves Peace in Ukraine After Success in Gaza
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated on Monday that the peace plan for Gaza is a great achievement by U.S. President Donald Trump and expressed hopes that he will achieve a similar result in Ukraine. "The president (Trump) has achieved it," Orbán highlighted in a statement posted on social media, where he informed that he has been invited to participate in the "peace summit" in the Egyptian town of Sharm el-Sheikh, where U.S., Qatar, Turkey, and Egypt leaders will sign the agreement ending two years of war between Israel and the radical Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
For the Hungarian Prime Minister, a close ally of Trump, the pact is a "huge achievement" by the White House chief. The Hungarian Prime Minister will participate today, along with around thirty international leaders, including Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, in the peace agreement signing ceremony in Egypt. "If we do not succumb to the sirens of warmongers, he (Trump) will also achieve it in Ukraine. We must give him our full support!" added the Hungarian leader.
Kallas Travels to Kiev to Discuss "Financial and Military Support" for Ukraine
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, traveled to Kiev on Monday to discuss Brussels' "financial and military support" for Ukraine and the country's situation following the recent Russian attacks on its energy system. "Ukrainians inspire the world with their courage," Kallas wrote on her X account upon arriving in the Ukrainian capital by train.
The EU's top diplomat was welcomed at the platform by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sibiga. "I am in Kiev today for discussions on financial and military support, on the security of Ukraine's energy sector, and to hold Russia accountable for its war crimes," Kallas also stated in her message.
This new visit by Kallas to Kiev coincides with the debate among the Twenty-Seven on the potential use of frozen Russian assets on European soil to finance the war effort and reconstruction of Ukraine, as reported by Efe.
Power Outages in Seven Ukrainian Regions
The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine has announced power outages in at least seven regions in the north, east, center, and south of the country due to Russian attacks on the energy grid.
"Due to the difficult situation in the energy system," caused "by Russian attacks (...), emergency power cuts have been implemented this morning in the regions of Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia (for industrial consumers), and Kirovohrad," the ministry said in a statement cited by Reuters.
Ukrainian Drones Cause Fire in Fuel Depot in Crimea
Ukrainian drones attacked an oil terminal in the Crimea peninsula, occupied by Russia, during the night, as reported by a Ukrainian security official speaking on condition of anonymity to Reuters.
The drones, launched by the Ukrainian intelligence service SBU and military special forces, hit at least five tanks at the facilities, causing a large fire, the source said, adding that the drones also struck at least two Russian power substations on the peninsula.
Russia Shoots Down 120 Ukrainian Drones
The Russian Ministry of Defense has reported that its anti-aircraft defenses shot down 120 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones during the night and early morning hours over four of its regions and annexed Crimea. According to the Russian military command, the aerial attacks took place between 11:00 p.m. yesterday and 8:00 a.m. today (GMT+3) and focused on the Crimea peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014, where 54 unmanned aerial vehicles were downed.
Additionally, the anti-aircraft defenses destroyed 19 drones over the Black Sea and two over the Sea of Azov, which bathes the Crimea peninsula. The remaining drones were intercepted and shot down in the regions of Astrakhan (26), Rostov (14), Belgorod (1), and the Republic of Kalmykia (1), a Russian Buddhist federal subject located in the south of the country.
Due to the aerial attack, the airports in the cities of Astrakhan, Krasnodar, Volgograd, and Gelendzhik temporarily suspended their operations, which resumed once the flight security threats ceased, as reported by Efe.