KYIV -- Moscow launched a wave of ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv overnight and into the morning, killing at least three people and injuring more than 20 others, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine had once again received no advance warning from its Western partners about the launches.
Russian forces struck several energy facilities in Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported on October 14, after Ukraine accused Russia of violating a cease-fire announced by US President Donald Trump on strikes targeting energy infrastructure.
At least five districts of Kyiv were plunged into emergency power outages after a Russian overnight strike hit one of the capital's main power plants, energy company DTEK reported.
In a post on X on October 14, Zelenskyy said that Russia had used 39 ballistic missiles and more than 120 attack drones in overnight strikes, adding that at least 600,000 people were now without power. He warned that the outages could become even more widespread.
Ukraine's Emergency Service said that three people were killed and 21 others, including one child, were injured, as rescue operations continued in Kyiv.
"I never thought I would leave the country, but I have a teenage child, and for the sake of my daughter, my dog, and our safety, I will leave in the near future," a Kyiv resident told RFE/RL at the scene of the strike on a residential building.
"According to our intelligence, Russia is preparing additional ballistic missile strikes," Zelenskyy wrote late on October 13.
"It is important that the world does not remain silent about this," he said, adding that "it is important that the United States really see what is happening and who is responsible for this war continuing." Zelenskyy reaffirmed Ukraine's support for an energy cease-fire.
"Russia is attacking Ukraine's energy grid, residential buildings, and critical infrastructure, causing blackouts in Kyiv, disrupting water supplies, and, most tragically, killing more civilians," Denys Sienik, charge d'affaires at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, said following the overnight strikes.
The attack came days after Trump announced a deal allowing Russian diesel exports, following a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 9.
Trump has said that, under the deal, the United States would immediately import 300,000 metric tons of Russian diesel, with millions more expected to follow.
The move has sparked criticism from European allies and from Democrats and Republicans, who warned that it could embolden Putin to continue his war against Ukraine.
In a letter to Trump, a bipartisan group of 12 senators urged him to withdraw from the diesel deal with Putin, calling it "a gift to our adversary" and "a betrayal of our Allies."
"Granting Moscow the ability to sell Russian diesel freely in global markets damages American security interests and is a betrayal of the people of Ukraine," the senators wrote in the letter.
