Launching a major operation in Ukraine, Russia is really reacting to the West, Germany says it is not the time for negotiations

On November 17, Russia launched an airstrike that was considered one of the largest-scale attacks since the special military operation in Ukraine began in February 2022.

DTEK, Ukraine's largest power producer, is working to repair its damaged facilities. (Source: Newsbase)

AFP news agency quoted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as saying that Russia launched 120 missiles and 90 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into the Eastern European country, of which 140 targets were shot down.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said the attack was Russia's "real response" to Western leaders, especially after a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on November 15 - Putin's first conversation with a major Western leader in nearly two years.

The attack comes as Ukraine faces a number of challenges: a harsh winter is approaching, its military is losing ground to Russia and Western aid is at risk following Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election.

The attack destroyed half of Ukraine's electricity generation capacity.

The DTEK power company had to carry out emergency power cuts in the capital Kiev and the eastern regions of Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk. Blackouts also occurred in the southern port city of Odessa and the Vinnytsia, Rivne, Volhynia and Zaporizhzhia regions.

According to Ukrainian officials, on November 18, the country will apply "restrictive measures" on electricity use in all regions.

Meanwhile, the national grid operator Ukrenergo said the temporary power outage would last from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. local time and workers were repairing the damage as quickly as possible.

For its part, the Russian Defense Ministry said that over the past 24 hours, the country's Armed Forces have damaged the infrastructure of military airports and gas production facilities used to operate Ukraine's defense industry.

Regarding the prospect of ending the conflict, recently, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin affirmed that this will be resolved at the negotiating table.

According to him, the US wants to ensure that Ukraine is in the best position to protect its interests, but in the future, the issue will ultimately be resolved through negotiations.

However, German Ambassador to Russia Alexander Graf Lambsdorff said that it was not yet time to negotiate with Russia about peace in Ukraine, while emphasizing that Europe would play a role in resolving the conflict.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/phat-dong-chien-dich-lon-vao-ukraine-nga-dang-phan-ung-thuc-su-voi-phuong-tay-duc-noi-chua-den-luc-dam-phan-294135.html