KYIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥� Russia attacked Ukrainian energy facilities with dozens of missiles and drones during the night, officials said Friday, hobbling the country鈥檚 ability to deliver heat and light to its citizens and to power weapons factories vital to its defenses.
The overnight barrage 鈥� which also pounded residences and wounded at least 10 people 鈥� came days after the U.S. to Ukraine to pressure it into accepting a peace deal being pushed by the Trump administration. Without U.S. intelligence, Ukraine鈥檚 ability to strike inside Russia and defend itself from bombardment is .
The U.S. government said Friday it halted Ukrainian access to unclassified satellite images that had been used to help it fight back against Russia.
The U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency told The Associated Press that the decision had been taken due to 鈥渢he Administration鈥檚 directive on support to Ukraine,鈥� without elaborating. The satellite imagery provider Maxar Technologies confirmed the U.S. government decision to 鈥渢emporarily suspend鈥� Ukrainian access.
A Ukrainian website associated with its military, Militarnyi, first reported the satellite image service had been blocked.
Air-defense systems supplied by the West are crucial for Ukraine, but further U.S. help is uncertain under President Donald Trump, who held a with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week in which he questioned Ukraine's determination to end the war. Zelenskyy has since said the blowup with the Trump administration was 鈥渞egrettable.鈥�
European Union leaders, mindful they may need to shoulder more of the burden for arming Ukraine and strengthen their own defenses, agreed on a plan Thursday to significantly .
Ukraine is having a tough time on the battlefield. An onslaught by Russia鈥檚 bigger army is at places along the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line.
Officials from the U.S. and Ukraine will meet in Saudi Arabia next week to discuss ending , which began more than three years ago when Russia launched a full-scale invasion. On Friday, President Trump said on social media he was 鈥渟trongly considering鈥� placing additional sanctions on Russia to force it into peace talks with Ukraine.
鈥淭o Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late,鈥� Trump said.
Ukraine came under a 鈥渕assive missile and drone鈥� attack overnight, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko wrote on Facebook.
鈥淩ussia is trying to hurt ordinary Ukrainians by striking energy and gas production facilities, without abandoning its goal of leaving us without light and heat, and causing the greatest harm to ordinary citizens,鈥� Halushchenko wrote.
Russia has repeatedly during the war. The attacks have depleted electricity generation capacity and disrupted critical heating and water supplies. Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of 鈥渨eaponizing winter鈥� in an effort to erode civilian morale.
Zelenskyy on Friday won the support of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for Ukraine's proposals to take some first steps toward stopping the war, including a halt on firing missiles, drones and bombs at energy and other civilian infrastructure. Zelenskyy has also proposed ceasing combat operations in the Black Sea to allow safe shipping.
Erdogan said that he also wants the shooting to stop without delay.
鈥淲e support the idea of an immediate ceasefire and the cessation of attacks in the air and at sea as a confidence-building measure between the parties,鈥� he said in a video call with European leaders.
Zelenskyy first suggested those initial steps in a post on X on Tuesday, when he said that he was ready to work under President Trump鈥檚 鈥渟trong leadership鈥� to get a lasting peace.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that the energy supply is a legitimate target in the war, because it's 鈥渓inked with Ukraine鈥檚 military industrial complex and weapons production.鈥�
Russian air defenses downed 39 Ukrainian drones overnight, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Ukraine鈥檚 largest private gas producer, DTEK, said that the overnight bombardment in the Odesa region was Russia鈥檚 sixth attack in the past two and a half weeks on its facilities. Its plants in two other regions were also struck.
Russia fired 67 missiles from air, land and sea, and launched 194 strike and decoy drones, Ukraine鈥檚 air force said. Their primary target was Ukraine鈥檚 natural gas extraction facilities, it said.
For the first time, Ukraine deployed French Mirage-2000 warplanes delivered a month ago to help repel the attack, according to the air force. Ukraine also has Western-supplied F-16 fighter jets to shoot down Russian missiles.
Ukrainian defenses downed 34 missiles and 100 drones, the air force said, while up to 10 missiles didn鈥檛 reach their targets and 86 drones were lost from radars, presumably jammed by electronic warfare.
The system through which Maxar shared imagery with Ukraine allows the U.S. government to order commercial satellite images that can be shared freely, as opposed to the highly classified images taken by its top-secret satellites.
During the war, Ukraine has used those images to plan attacks, see the results of their strikes and monitor the movement of Russian forces. Even before the war began in February 2022, commercial satellite imagery allowed the Biden administration to share otherwise classified information about what it knew.
鈥淢axar has contracts with the U.S. government and dozens of allied and partner nations around the world to provide satellite imagery and other geospatial data,鈥� said Gia DeHart, a spokesperson for Maxar Intelligence鈥檚 U.S. government business. 鈥淓ach customer makes their own decisions on how they use and share that data.鈥�
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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. ___
Follow AP鈥檚 coverage of the war in Ukraine at
Illia Novikov And Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press
