Since the beginning of 2026, Russian troops have carried out 217 attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko announced on Wednesday, February 4, after a meeting dedicated to the emergency situation in the energy sector. And President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that the situation is most severe in Kiev and Kharkiv and their regions, as well as in Sumy and Poltava regions.
Zelensky reported that after a series of Russian strikes in several districts of Kiev, 1,100 multi-storey residential buildings remain without heating. "For each such building, there must be clear information on the timing of the restoration of heating," he stressed. According to him, more than 200 emergency brigades are currently working in the capital. The Ministry of Energy promises to increase the number of employees for rotation, as they are very exhausted.
"It's actually an ultimatum"
In an interview with the French national television France 2, broadcast on Wednesday, February 4, the Ukrainian president accused Moscow of "taking advantage of the cold" by intensifying attacks on energy infrastructure since the beginning of winter. "Russia is trying to increase the suffering of Ukrainians in order to eventually force them to accept what our American friends call "compromise". But in fact, it's an ultimatum", he told the French media.
In the interview, Zelensky emphasizes that Ukraine is fighting on behalf of the European Union. Because "today it is very clear that if Ukraine does not stop Putin, he will invade Europe". "Their (ed. Russian) drones can operate in depth. The range of their missiles is unlimited… They will strike everywhere", he warns, rejecting accusations that he "scares on purpose".
"Europeans live in a wonderful, secure world that they themselves have built in a fair way through their economy and their work", Zelensky also told France 2. "Life is good in Europe. That's why I say that we are all fighting to protect this way of life. (...) Putin wants to humiliate Europe."
"Putin is not afraid of Europeans"
In the interview with French television, Zelensky stressed that Putin is only afraid of Trump. "It's not my job to say what Trump should say to Putin. The American president wants to stop this war through compromises. We supported these proposals, but there can be no compromise on the issue of our own sovereignty. Putin is not afraid of the Europeans," the Ukrainian president explained, recalling his country's gratitude to the Europeans.
Volodymyr Zelensky told France 2 that around 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died since the start of the war in Ukraine, and that a large number of people are considered missing. He predicted that for Russia to conquer eastern Ukraine, "it will cost them another 800,000 bodies." "It will take them at least two years of very slow progress. In my opinion, they will not last that long," Zelensky told the French television channel.