(LONDON )– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned allies that the defense of his nation is a litmus test for broader Western resolve, after Russia fired at least 117 missiles and drones in an overnight attack on the country’s energy infrastructure facilities.
“It’s the middle of winter, and the target for the Russians remains the same: our energy sector,” Zelenskyy wrote in a statement posted to Telegram. “Among the targets are gas infrastructure and energy facilities that ensure normal life for people.”
Air alerts sounded across the country. “Ukraine is currently under a massive attack of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones from Russia,” U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink wrote on X. “Thanks to Ukraine’s brave air defenders for their relentless and heroic work.”
Zelenskyy described the attack as “massive,” with Ukraine’s air force tallying 43 missiles and 74 drones crossing into national airspace. Thirty of the missiles and 47 of the drones were shot down, the air force said, with another 27 drones lost in flight.
“Thanks to our air defense and all the units involved, we are maintaining the operation of our energy system,” Zelenskyy said on Wednesday morning.
“But we constantly need to strengthen the existing capabilities of the Ukrainian air shield,” the president added. “Partners at the NATO summit in Washington and in the Ramstein format made promises that have not yet been fully implemented.”
“We also talked about licenses for the production of air defense and anti-missile systems, which can become one of the effective security guarantees for Ukraine, and this is also realistic and must be fulfilled,” Zelenskyy continued.
“We are grateful to everyone who helps our state,” he wrote. “But it is not only about our state. Right now, the defense of Ukraine is proving whether Europe and the democratic world in general are capable of stopping wars — reliably and for a long time.”
Zelenskyy and his top officials have repeatedly demanded that NATO allies do more to bolster Ukraine’s air defense umbrella, with the country struggling through a third consecutive winter of massed Russian attacks on the national energy grid.
Though allies have provided significant numbers of advanced systems, Zelenskyy has said the number is not sufficient to protect vital targets.
At a Sept. 6 meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, the president told Western partners, “The world has enough air defense systems to ensure that Russian terror does not have results, and I urge you to be more active in this war with us for the air defense.”
The latest Russian barrage came after a record-breaking night of Ukrainian drone attacks in Western Russia, in which Kyiv’s forces said they hit a chemical plant in Tula region, ammunition warehouses at the Engels airfield in Saratov region, an oil refinery in Saratov and a chemical plant in Bryansk.
A source in the Security Service of Ukraine told ABC News that Ukrainian forces are continuing to “work on enemy military facilities and enterprises that work for the Russian military-industrial complex.”
“Every hit, ammunition depot, refinery, oil depot, or chemical plant is a painful blow to the Russian Federation’s ability to wage war in Ukraine,” the source said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted six U.S.-made ATACMS missiles, eight British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles, one U.S.-made HIMARS missile and 180 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles, 146 of which were intercepted outside of occupied Ukraine and the front lines.
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