KYIV, Oct 9: President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of wanting to sow "chaos" in Ukraine by launching strikes on his country's energy grid and railway infrastructure, in comments published Thursday.
Moscow, whose forces invaded Ukraine in 2022, has in recent weeks escalated aerial attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and rail systems.
"Russia's task is to create chaos and apply psychological pressure on the population through strikes on energy facilities and railways," Zelensky told journalists, including AFP, in embargoed comments made in Kyiv on Wednesday.
He said later he was dispatching his prime minister and a senior sanctions advisor to the United States for talks early next week on air defence, energy, sanctions, as well as negotiations with Russia and frozen Russian assets.
Zelensky says US must pile pressure on Russia to end war
The recent attacks mirror similar Russian bombing campaigns in the winters of 2022, 2023 and 2024 that left millions of Ukrainians without energy or heating for long periods.
His comments were released just hours after fresh Russian attacks damaged energy infrastructure in the southern Black Sea region of Odesa, where port facilities were also struck.
Zelensky said that Russian attacks this year had already put Ukrainian gas infrastructure under "heavy pressure" and that more strikes could force his country to ramp up imports.
Ukraine has also recently stepped up its own drone and missile strikes on Russian territory in a campaign that Zelensky said was showing "results" and that has also increased fuel prices in Russia.
"We believe that they've lost up to 20 percent of their gasoline supply -- directly as a result of our strikes," Zelensky said, adding there was evidence Russia had stepped up imports from China and Belarus.
Ukraine also recently struck a power station in the Russian border region of Belgorod, causing power outages.
The Ukrainian military meanwhile said Thursday it had struck energy facilities -- including a gas processing plant -- in the Volgograd region in southern Russia.
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