As the conflict continues to unfold, members of Ukraine’s military and government officials are preparing for Russia’s renewed aggression. Tensions are rising yet again. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has recently called out for an alarm. He’s concerned that Russia is poised to start a new round of attacks on Ukrainian facilities following a recent large-scale drone attack targeting the country’s energy infrastructure.
In the early hours of Monday, Russia targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with a mass attack of 145 drones designed to destroy them. As of mid-June, Ukrainian air defenses were claiming successful interceptions for 126 drones. The attacks nonetheless continued to leave consumers in areas such as Sumy, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Chernihiv without electricity. Actual Ukrainian energy ministry recently acknowledged the severity of the outages, saying,
“As of this morning, consumers in Sumy, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions are without power.” – Ukrainian energy ministry
Zelenskyy reiterated the threat posed by Russia during a briefing, stating that the Kremlin has “prepared for a strike, a massive strike, and is waiting for the moment to carry it out.” Senator Murphy stressed the importance of continuing to watch and push Ukrainians even as they stumble through this transition.
Expect to be the first on the ground and back up and protect your personnel, he continued.
To shore up these weak points, and to challenge recent Russian advances, Ukraine’s armed forces are announcing a fresh approach. These small groups would be able to quickly deploy interceptor drones to enhance air defense capabilities against increasingly persistent aerial threats. Pavlo Yelizarov as the new deputy air force commander. This first step marks a significant strategic departure in Ukraine’s military operations against Russia’s aggression.
Beyond the normalization of military developments, as the current conflict continues to unfold, diplomatic efforts are ongoing. Kirill Dmitriev, special envoy to Vladimir Putin, snuck under the WEF’s sanctions radar and will be in Davos, Switzerland. His intention now is to meaningfully hook up with members of the U.S. delegation during the event. Then came the unexpected— Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, shared thrilling news. He disclosed that conversations with American officials regarding possible ways to bring the war to a close will take place at WEF.
As if to compound these challenges, the upcoming elections in Ukraine pose a daunting political obstacle. Zelenskyy is under colossal pressure to hold elections—the first since Russia’s invasion in 2022—but martial law still forbids them. Oleh Didenko, head of Ukraine’s Central Election Commission, solicited the immediate attention for some heavy revisions on the voter registry. He further pointed out that getting a vote to the floor would require significant advance notice.
In July, U.S. President Donald Trump got on Ukraine to hold elections under unusual conditions. He brought to light the difficulty of finessing international demands with domestic security needs. Zelenskyy’s government is still doing the delicate work of protecting national interests while managing these colliding currents.
Ukrainian officials have reported that Russian forces are conducting reconnaissance operations targeting specific Ukrainian sites, raising alarms about potential future strikes on critical infrastructure. On these developments, Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine’s energy minister, briefed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He urged us all to remain vigilant.
As Ukraine continues to face an existential military war and consequential political war, the picture is changing on a daily basis. Both diplomatic negotiations and military strategies will be increasingly important in this complex and expanding war. Their results will go a long way towards determining the next stage of play.