Zelensky: Russia Hit Energy Grid 76 Times Since Ceasefire Call

Russian forces have carried out 76 targeted strikes against Ukraine’s power grid and oil-and-gas infrastructure since US President Donald Trump announced an “energy ceasefire” one week ago, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Sunday, Oct. 18. In a public address reviewing weekly and overnight Russian aerial bombardments, Zelensky reported that Moscow has systematically expanded attacks on civil life-support networks rather than de-escalating, demonstrating that economic concessions and sanctions relief fail to curb the Kremlin’s war effort.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “Since the American president announced an energy ceasefire a week ago, Russia has deliberately struck Ukrainian energy and the oil and gas sector 76 times,” Zelensky stated. Overnight substation impacts and civilian casualties Zelensky confirmed that overnight into Sunday, Russian strikes hit electrical substations across the Odesa, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia and Zhytomyr regions, cutting electricity to tens of thousands of households. “Tens of thousands of families remain without power. Power engineers and repair crews are working virtually around the clock on restoration,” Zelensky said. Alongside utility targets, Russian munitions engaged residential neighborhoods and commercial enterprises across several provinces overnight and early Sunday morning, killing two people and injuring 12 others, including two children. “At night, the Russians also struck residential buildings in our regions. As of now, 12 people are known to be injured, including two children. Two people were killed,” Zelensky stated, extending condolences to the victims’ families. Other Topics of Interest I’m a Russian Fashion Designer – Vladimir Putin Is Terrified of Me In his latest Ukraine dispatch, Lord Ashcroft meets Anastasia Vistorobska who gave up life in France to work as a frontline medic… despite being Russian. On Sunday morning, a separate Russian strike targeted an agricultural enterprise in the western Volyn region, prompting local emergency services and civil defense personnel to deploy to the scene to assess damage. Weekly aerial barrage: 2,700 drones, 1,700 bombs, 66 missiles Detailing the scale of Russian aerial operations over the preceding seven days, Zelensky reported that Russian forces deployed nearly 2,700 strike drones, 1,700 guided aerial bombs (KABs), and 66 missiles against Ukrainian territory, with the majority of missile systems consisting of high-speed ballistic weapons. “In total over the past week, the Russians launched nearly 2,700 strike drones, 1,700 aerial bombs, and 66 missiles against Ukraine, the majority of which were ballistic,” Zelensky stated. “The main targets of these strikes are specifically energy; the Russians are trying to create a blackout.” The president addressed policymakers in Washington directly, asserting that Moscow treats diplomatic accommodations – such as the White House’s executive waiver of statutory sanctions under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 and the bilateral commercial diesel agreement—not as incentives for peace, but as validation that its military strategy is yielding economic rewards. “America must see that Russia is not making reciprocal steps in response to the lifting of sanctions or agreements,” Zelensky emphasized. “On the contrary, they perceive every signal of an opportunity to earn revenue as proof that their bet on war is working and that they can continue fighting.” Zelensky reiterated that the war persists due to the Kremlin’s uncompromising posture rather than Ukraine’s legitimate defense of its sovereign territory, urging allied nations to increase economic and military deterrence. “It is precisely because of this position of Russia that the war continues, and not because Ukraine is righteously defending itself,” Zelensky said. “It is precisely Russia that must be pressured so that peace has a chance.” Sanctions waivers The presidential address follows a week of mounting diplomatic tension between Kyiv and Washington over the administration’s foreign policy approach toward Moscow. On Oct. 11, Trump announced an immediate bilateral “energy ceasefire” on Truth Social, asserting that both Russia and Ukraine had agreed to suspend strikes against energy installations. However, operational mechanisms were never formalized, and Russian forces sustained heavy standoff bombardments against Ukrainian utility networks throughout the week. The friction deepened after Trump signed an executive order on Friday, Oct. 16, invoking Section 115 of the Graham Act to waive mandatory 500 percent tariffs on Russian imports and 100 percent duties targeting global purchasers of Russian energy, just 48 hours before their statutory implementation date. On Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio characterized the executive waiver as a 60-day pause to analyze the global and domestic economic fallout of tariffs and secondary sanctions, citing foreign partner dependencies such as India’s reliance on Russian crude. Rubio also defended a separate bilateral commercial pact allowing Moscow to deliver refined Russian diesel onto global markets to mitigate fuel price inflation exacerbated by armed conflict in the Middle East. White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers concurrently argued that enforcing statutory Graham Act sanctions at this juncture would impede American diplomatic efforts to broker a durable peace settlement, asserting that keeping the measures in reserve provides executive negotiating leverage. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.