Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy to meet Trump in DC on Friday

Around 30,000 people in Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, were without power on Monday evening after Russian forces stuck energy infrastructure with guided bombs, according to local officials.

Writing on Telegram, regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said Russian forces had targeted the Nemyshlianskyi and Slobidskyi districts in the southeast of the city and the Shevchenkivskyi district in the north.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov told local television that power lines and a hospital had been damaged, and that four people had been injured, predominantly by flying shards of glass.

"Unfortunately, the hospital was quite badly damaged and there were patients inside. Four people were injured to various degrees and about 200 windows were smashed," Terekhov said.

"Attacks are generally on energy targets: generation transmission, the power network," he explained. "The aim is to stop the power transmission network working."

As winter approaches for the fourth time since the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, Moscow's forces are once again targeting Ukraine's electricity grid and gas industry.

Last week, a large-scale attack on the capital, Kyiv, and other large cities left more than a million homes and businesses without power, and also disrupted water supplies.

Meanwhile on the frontline, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed on Monday that its forces had captured two more small villages  one in the eastern Donetsk region and one near Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region.

On the other hand, Ukrainian National Guard units said they had repelled an attempted Russian advance near the town of Dobropillia in the Donetsk region, near the key logistical hub of Pokrovsk.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday told reporters in Kyiv that he will be traveling to the US to discuss his country's air defense and long-range missile strike capabilities with President Donald Trump on Friday.

Zelenskyy told reporters that he had shared with Trump Ukraine's "vision" of just how many long-range US Tomahawk missiles Kyiv thinks it would need to turn the tide in its three-and-a-half-year defense against invading Russian forces.

On Sunday, Trump signaled frustration with Russia and a possible willingness to give Ukraine the arms it seeks, musing, "I might say, 'Look, if this war is not going to get settled, I'm going to send them Tomahawks.'"

Trump continued his remarks aboard Air Force One, adding: "The Tomahawk is an incredible weapon, very offensive weapon. And honestly, Russia does not need that."

A Ukrainian drone strike has set fire to a large oil depot in the Russian-annexed Crimean city of Feodosia, Russian state news agency TASS reported Sunday.

The blaze began after a drone hit the facility overnight, according to the Moscow-appointed Crimean leader Sergei Aksyonov. There were no immediate reports of casualties. TASS said more than 20 drones were shot down over Crimea, while Russia's Defense Ministry reported intercepting 37 drones across several regions, as well as over the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

The same depot was damaged in a previous Ukrainian drone attack last year. Ukraine has repeatedly struck fuel and logistics sites behind Russian lines in an effort to disrupt Moscow's supply networks, while Russia continues its own campaign of drone and missile attacks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday said Russia launched more than 3,100 drones, 92 missiles, and about 1,360 glide bombs against Ukraine over the past week. 

Ukraine says it is bringing in restrictions on energy consumption in at least seven regions of the country after a series of recent Russian attacks on power facilities.

"Due to the complicated situation in Ukraine's Unified Energy System caused by previous Russian strikes, emergency power outages were implemented" in seven regions, the Energy Ministry said on social media, listing territories mainly in the east and center of the country.

The affected regions are Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kirovohrad regions in the morning. The Chernihiv region was also affected by hourly power outages.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrived in Kyiv on Monday for talks on financial and military support to Ukraine, including a planned reparations loan based on frozen Russian assets.

Kallas said Russia is "gambling with war."

"Every time a Russian drone or plane violates our airspace, there is a risk of escalation, unintended or not. Russia is gambling with war," she said during a visit to Kyiv, calling on Europe to boost its defense capabilities.   

"Ukrainians inspire the world with their courage. Their resilience demands all our support," Kallas wrote on X. "I am in Kyiv today for discussions on financial and military aid, Ukraine's energy security, and holding Russia accountable for its war crimes."

It is Kallas' first visit to Ukraine since taking office in December, coming at the start of what is expected to be a difficult winter following extensive Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

With freezing temperatures looming, the country faces the risk of prolonged power cuts, heating failures and disruptions to essential services. Ukraine has continued to carry out rapid repairs and strengthen its air defenses with European backing.

The European Commission is finalizing a proposal for a reparations loan to Ukraine funded by Russian assets frozen under EU sanctions. The plan's scale will be based on Ukraine's financial needs over the next two years.

Welcome to DW's coverage of the latest developments in the Russian war on Ukraine.

European Union foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas is in Kyiv and has called on Europe to beef up its defensive capabilities. 

Kallas said Russia was "gambling with war" after Russian drones and jets repeatedly crossed into NATO and European Union airspace. 

Meanwhile, Ukraine is having to impose power restrictions across several regions after a spate of Russian attacks.

Stay tuned for the latest news and analysis from the ongoing war.