BRUSSELS -- US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker says President Donald Trump has "a lot more" cards to play to bring Russia to peace talks with Kyiv as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned what he called a “cynical and calculated" attack by Moscow that left parts of the capital without power.
Zelenskyy said on October 10 that Russia had launched more than 450 drones and over 30 missiles across Ukraine and emphasized that “civilian and energy infrastructure...is the main target of Russia’s strikes ahead of the heating season.”
He urged stronger international support, saying, “together, we can protect people from this terror. What’s needed is not window dressing but decisive action -- from the United States, Europe, and the G7 -- in delivering air defense systems and enforcing sanctions.”
Speaking to RFE/RL in Brussels, Whitaker said that both sides in the nearly four-year-old conflict will have to make concessions to bring about peace.
"There are almost, I don't want to say unlimited cards, but certainly there are a lot more, a lot again, consequences for not doing a peace deal that could be brought to bear against the Russians," he said.
Zelenskyy has been looking for Trump to ratchet up pressure on Moscow to end its war -- the longest and deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.
Trump has said he could impose sanctions on Russia to stop the fighting but without similar actions from Europe, "we're all wasting a lot of time."
Whitaker echoed the president's words, saying that sanctions against India for buying Russian oil, the opening of weapons stockpiles in the production capacity to Ukraine, and other measures have increased pressure on Moscow.
But he added pushing Moscow to the negotiating table has to be a joint effort, meaning Europe must also take action.
"Instead of...asking what the United States is going to do, I would prefer to ask what we all are going to do because Europe is consequential," he said, noting that some European countries need to wean themselves off of Russian oil.
"We need to help them make that transition, the EU is very crucial to that as well."
Air Attacks On Kyiv
As diplomats continue to seek ways to put peace talks back on track, many residents of Kyiv were digging out of the rubble after another massive wave of air attacks.
A drone set apartments on fire on the 6th and 7th floors of a high-rise block in a central district, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, adding that both drones and missiles had been deployed in the assault.
"There's no electricity at all," one woman in the capital told RFE/RL. "When [firefighters] were putting out the fire, there was still power in the house, then it went out, then came back on, and then it went out completely across the whole district."
Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said 12 people had been injured, with eight of them taken to the hospital. He said there were power outages in the eastern districts of the city.
"The left bank of the capital is without electricity. There are also problems with water supply," Klitschko said on Telegram.
The Energy Ministry said in a post on social media that at mid-afternoon, power outages continued around Kyiv, as well as in Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhya.
According to a Telegram post by Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba, the water supply has been restored for two million people in Kyiv, though approximately 4,000 buildings remain without water.
"Despite major infrastructure damage, restoration efforts are underway across the country, with repair crews working tirelessly to restore electricity and water to homes as quickly as possible," he stated, just hours after Russia's massive strike.
Russia has consistently denied targeting civilian installations in Ukraine despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
The Ukrainian Air Force described the attack as "massive" as multiple explosions and the sound of drones were heard over the capital.
In the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhya, drones struck several targets overnight, killing a 7-year-old child, the regional governor said.
"Tragic news. A 7-year-old boy who was wounded in a nighttime Russian attack has died in hospital," Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram.
Fedorov said earlier that the drone strike triggered at least one fire in a dwelling.
Following the morning attacks, Zelenskyy told reporters at a briefing that Ukraine seeks clarity on 10 Patriot missile batteries previously promised by the US, adding that 203 energy facilities are currently in need of air defense protection.
He also expressed hope for a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, a grouping of over 20 Western countries supporting Ukraine, later this month.
