Vladimir Putin said Thursday that deadly bombings targeting Ukraine’s energy grid, which led to major power outages, followed the Kremlin’s goal of “demilitarization” of Ukraine. “We assume that in this way we have influence on the military-industrial complex of Ukraine,” the Russian president said. At the same time, he claimed that these bombings were a response to recent Ukrainian attacks targeting energy infrastructure in Russia, including refineries.
Vladimir Putin also assured that the Russian army had not struck Ukrainian electrical installations this winter “for humanitarian reasons”. “We did not want to deprive social infrastructure and hospitals of electricity.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Thursday called on the European Union to consider aid to countries on the front line as Ukraine’s neighbors. The leader of Ukraine’s neighbor and staunch defender of the country spoke in Warsaw alongside European Council President Charles Michel, who urged member states to invest more in defense.
“From the first days of the war, Poland gave Ukraine everything it could, and even more. Today, Poland must build its own security,” said Donald Tusk. “We must as a whole, and not just Poland, help Ukraine as much as possible, but the whole of Europe must also think more actively about how to help countries like Poland and Estonia, which find themselves on the front line,” he added. “If we are one Europe, that means war is on our doorstep. This is why we will seek all possible means to support Ukraine and the countries most vulnerable to the consequences of this war,” he argued.
Hello everyone. Like every day, the editorial staff of 20 minutes is mobilized to give you all the information on the conflict. Ukraine is currently experiencing numerous power outages. Yesterday in particular, around forty missiles and as many Russian drones targeted the Ukrainian electricity network, so much so that President Volodymyr Zelensky implored his Western allies to provide his country with anti-aircraft defense systems as quickly as possible.