Russia fires barrage at Ukraine as Zelenskyy pitches war-winning plan at UN

(LONDON) — Russia launched a major missile and drone attack into Ukraine overnight into Tuesday coinciding with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the U.S. this week, where the Ukrainian leader is seeking American and international support for Kyiv’s “victory plan.”

Ukraine’s air force wrote on Telegram that four missiles — one Iskander-M, two Kh-59/69s and one of undetermined type — were fired into northern and central Ukraine overnight,

Russia also launched 81 Shahed attack drones, the air force said, of which 66 were shot down and 13 blocked by radio jamming.

“The main direction of the attack is the north and center of Ukraine,” the air force wrote.

Ukraine’s Energy Ministry, meanwhile, noted that energy facilities in six regions of the country were attacked, resulting in local power outages.

Ukraine’s southern city of Zaporizhzhia also came under fire on Monday evening, according to regional governor Ivan Fedorov. One person was killed, he wrote on Telegram.

The latest strikes come as Zelenskyy tries to bolster support for Kyiv’s war plan during his visit to the U.S. for meetings with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington, D.C., as well as appearances at the U.N. General Assembly in New York City.

During a sit-down interview with ABC News’ Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts, Zelenskyy said the war with Moscow is “closer to an end” than many believe. 

“The plan of victory is strengthening of Ukraine,” he added. “That’s why we’re asking our friends, our allies, to strengthen us. It’s very important.”

President Vladimir Putin, Zelenskyy said, is “afraid” of the recent Ukrainian occupation of parts of Russia’s western Kursk region. 

“His people saw that he can’t defend — that he can’t defend all his territory,” Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine, Zelenskyy added, can only “push Putin to stop the war” from a “strong position.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded by saying that Russia will only end the war when its goals are achieved.

“Any war one way or the other finishes with peace,” Peskov told reporters, as reported by Russian state media. “For us there is no alternative to achieving our goals. As soon as our goals are achieved one way or the other, the special military operation will end.”

Ukraine is continuing its own long-range strikes against Russian military and industrial targets, while pressing its partners for permission to use Western-supplied weapons in such operations.

Russia’s Defense Ministry reported 13 “thwarted” drone infiltrations overnight into Tuesday — seven over Belgorod region, five over Kursk and one over Bryansk regions.

On the battlefield, meanwhile, Russian forces continued attacks in eastern Ukraine, increasingly threatening Ukraine’s hold on the city of Vuhledar in southeastern Donetsk Oblast, which Moscow has been attempting to seize since the early weeks of the invasion.

Ukrainian military bloggers reported that Russian forces may have broken through the defenders’ flanks near the city, which is already largely destroyed and empty of civilians.

Developments there reflect the broader difficult situation for Ukraine in the east, where its forces are trying to hold back a creeping Russian advance while inflicting heavy casualties.