Zelenskyy: Putin 'tries to portray himself as mediator' while attacking Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin for attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure while trying to "portray himself as a mediator" for the Iran-Israel conflict.
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russian forces attacked Ukraine with 11 missiles and 183 drones from Saturday night through Sunday.
Zelenskyy said in a video address on Sunday that Russian attacks damaged energy facilities in Kremenchuk in the central Ukrainian region of Poltava. He accused Russia of targeting civilian infrastructure.
He said Russia used Iranian drones to attack the energy facilities "to complicate the work of our air defense systems."
On Saturday, Putin spoke with US President Donald Trump by phone and offered Russia's mediation to ease tensions between Israel and Iran.
Zelenskyy said, "Putin tries to portray himself as a mediator for the Middle East and attempts to somehow assist his accomplices in Tehran."
The Russian defense ministry said its forces launched a strike on an oil refinery in the city of Kremenchuk, which it said supplies fuel to the Ukrainian military in the Donbas region.
The Associated Press and other media outlets report that Zelenskyy told reporters on Friday he is concerned that US military support, such as the provision of air-defense systems, might go to Israel rather than to Ukraine.
The question now is how the situation in the Middle East would impact Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
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