Russia readies 'massive strikes' on power plants as warehouse attack toll reaches 38

Russia's defence ministry announced on Telegram on Sunday that its forces have begun preparations for massive strikes on Ukraine's energy sector, framing it as retaliation for Kyiv's attacks on civilian infrastructure and on Russia's oil and energy complex. Last winter, repeated Russian strikes on Ukrainian power plants left millions of people without electricity in freezing temperatures.

Deadliest strike of the year

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that the death toll from a Russian strike on a warehouse west of Kyiv had risen to 38, with four people still missing, making it the deadliest attack of the year. The Friday night strike hit a warehouse that Ukrainian officials said was storing ammunition, triggering large explosions and fires that spread to dozens of nearby homes in the village of Myla.

On Saturday, Russian strikes on Kyiv killed a two-year-old girl and injured 12 others, according to the capital's mayor, Vitali Klitschko. In the eastern village of Bilbasovka, a 13-year-old and an adult were killed on Sunday after Russian forces dropped bombs on private houses, local official Vadim Lyakh said.

Separately, a missile attack on the Russian border city of Belgorod killed two people and injured 16 others on Sunday evening, acting governor Alexander Shuvayev said on Telegram, adding that the deaths followed a Ukrainian strike on a commercial facility that also sparked fires in seven warehouses. Another person was killed in a Ukrainian attack on a mine in the Russian-controlled part of the Luhansk region, according to the region's Russian-installed governor, Leonid Pasechnik.

Budget shortfall and drone defence

Ukraine's defence minister, Yevhenii Khmara, said Kyiv wants to bring forward part of a European Union loan earmarked for next year to help cover a $27bn budget deficit this year. He said Ukraine has tested four potential interceptors against the jet-powered drones Russia is increasingly using, which have targeted Kyiv for four consecutive days, killing residents and damaging homes and warehouses.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine is preparing for further talks with representatives of US President Donald Trump, with more details expected the following day. A Nato official said on Sunday that Russia is stepping up hybrid activity in Europe but that the alliance currently sees no imminent threat of attack, while reaffirming continued support for Ukraine.