Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Russia has stepped up its attacks this month and urged partners to strengthen energy restrictions. Meanwhile, European Union officials are getting ready to meet with U.S. officials in Washington on Monday to plan further economic pressure on Moscow.
Zelenskyy claimed in an overnight update that Russia has launched “over 1,300” attack drones, around 900 guided aerial bombs, and up to 50 missiles of different types at Ukraine since the start of September. There were also new hits on civilian facilities reported overnight.
He said that explosions were heard in many parts of the country during the first week of the month. His post said that strikes were recorded in the provinces of Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Kherson, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Kirovohrad, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, Volyn, Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne, and Lviv.
On Monday, September 8, the U.S. Treasury Department will host talks between the EU and the U.S. about increasing sanctions and addressing loopholes that allow people to avoid them. According to the Associated Press, David O’Sullivan, the EU’s sanctions ambassador, will lead the team.
António Costa, the President of the European Council, has indicated in public that an EU team is going to Washington to work with American allies on actions against Russia.
Zelenskyy said that the push for sanctions was related to a week of “active diplomacy” that included phone conversations, visits, and meetings with the so-called Coalition of the Willing, which is working for long-term security guarantees for Ukraine. He thanked the leaders for their “concrete and meaningful” support and stressed that “lasting peace requires functioning and real security guarantees.”
He also agreed with what the U.S. has said recently about Europe buying fossil fuels from Russia. Zelenskyy added, “President Trump is absolutely right that effective restrictions on Russian oil and gas trade are needed to get diplomacy back on track.” He also asked partners to send more weapons and make sanctions stronger to stop future aggression.
There is no agenda for Monday’s discussions yet, but recent efforts across the Atlantic have focused on stopping people from getting around sanctions, cutting Russia’s energy revenues, and making sure that everyone is enforcing the rules.
Zelenskyy stated that emergency services were at the sites of the strikes and that Ukraine would keep asking for stricter punitive measures against Russia and more security guarantees from its partners.
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