US calls for Ukraine not to hit Russian energy infrastructure | DW News

Ukraine's president says it was the biggest attack on his country's energy infrastructure since the invasion began two years ago. Ukraine's military says it intercepted 90 of about 150 Russian missiles and drones in the night from Thursday to Friday. The attack left thousands without power. Sniffing out survivors. A familiar sight for so many Ukrainians. And one seen across numerous cities on Friday in the aftermath of fresh overnight attacks from Russia. Many people across Ukraine are still missing. Including here in Zaporizhia, one of the hardest hit towns. There were a lot more explosions after the first one. There was so much debris flying around us. I had only one goal, to ensure that my child was alive. I rescued him from the rubble. Though many residential areas were affected, the primary target of Russia's missile and drone attacks was Ukraine's energy facilities. President Volodymyr Zelensky called it the largest strike on their energy infrastructure of the entire war. Ukraine's largest hydroelectric dam was hit in the early hours of Friday morning, causing blackouts that have left more than a million Ukrainians without power. There is no mobile signal. And we need to get in touch with the elderly people to find out if they're okay and what they need. The escalation of Russian strikes has forced many elderly residents of this border town to evacuate and move deeper into Ukraine for safety. They leave their homes with little hope for peace any time soon, as Kyiv calls on Europe for additional air defense systems in the wake of this latest barrage of Russian strikes. The Ukrainian government has rejected calls by the U.S. to stop attacks on Russia's oil and gas infrastructure. Ukraine has dramatically stepped up its attacks on Russian energy facilities this month. It's launched numerous long-range drones to strike Russia's biggest refineries. That has resulted in the temporary suspension of production at some of these facilities. Kyiv insists Russian energy facilities are legitimate targets. For more, I'd like to go to Kyiv now and bring in Ukrainian Ambassador-at-Large Alexander Shcherba. Ambassador, it's good to see you again. The president of your country said that Russian missile attacks last night were the biggest attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure since this war began. How does that impact the call from the U.S. not to target Russian energy infrastructure? Well, this attack was just another barbaric strike that cost more lives to Ukraine, and it's another page of this barbaric war. We all know that for some reason people say it's a retaliation for the strikes that Ukraine has been conducting on the Russian refineries. There is no proof of that, first of all. And second of all, everybody knows that in this war, Ukraine has to answer asymmetrically. In a symmetrical war, our chances of winning are lower, but we should strike and hurt Russia where it hurts the most. And this is what we intend to do furthermore. So why do you think we're seeing these attacks by Ukraine on Russian energy infrastructure? Are we seeing it because the military is now able to do that? The capabilities of our military are growing. We expanded both the selection, the scope of our drones and their number, so we can reach the objects furthermore in deep Russia, and we will do that. And of course, we strike where it hurts the most, where Russia makes its bloody money, where it produces gasoline. So this is the logic of it. And of course, Russians are hysterical about it. But to say that these attacks yesterday on Kiev, today on the energy infrastructure in the country are retaliation, well, there is no proof of that, first of all. And second of all, I mean, we have plenty to retaliate for here, so we should start with that problem. And you don't see any reason why Ukraine should stop these attacks on Russian energy infrastructure? I see that Ukraine should conduct this war with ways and means. It has attempt, first of all. And the logical conclusion from these events, even if it is a retaliation for what we did, is very simple. And the decent solution would be to give Ukraine not four Patriot systems, but 10 or 15, so that not only the sky over Kiev is covered, but also over Zaporizhia, over Kharkiv. That would be the decent solution and not for Ukraine to start pulling punches. There are some reports, Ambassador, that suggest that a rise in oil prices caused by these Ukrainian attacks in Russia are bad news for U.S. President Joe Biden, who is hoping to be reelected this November. Your reaction to that, do you see a connection here? I think there is some confusion here, because I read reports that because Russia now produces less gasoline, it has to export more raw oil to cover for the losses in hard currency income in the country. So this is my information at my disposal. I don't think that there is any evidence that these strikes on Russia that hurt, first of all, the domestic consumption of gasoline in Russia have played any role on international markets, aside from maybe Russia is very good at causing and manufacturing all kinds of crisis on global markets. That's true. Ambassador, you and I, we've spoken numerous times since this war began, and we're in a situation now where more U.S. military aid for Ukraine is stuck in U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington at a time when Ukraine is under continued attack also on its own energy infrastructure. What is your message tonight to the U.S. leadership in Washington? You have two options here. And by you, I mean the United States and the West in general. Either you live up to what you kept saying in the beginning of this war, that we stand with you, that we won't throw you under the bus, that we admire your resilience, and we absolutely are your allies, or we were lying to you. And all that was just white noise. And that would be probably devastating for the spirit of this nation. But be honest with us, say what is happening. Ukrainian Ambassador-at-Large Alexander Shcherba, Ambassador, we appreciate your time and your honesty with us. Thank you.