shop now
(Updated: )
Editor's note: The article was updated with comments from U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Ukraine's international partners have denounced Russia's most recent mass aerial strike launched against the country on Nov. 17.
"As we approach 1,000 days since the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia shows it has no intention of ceasing its aggression," said Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp.
Russia launched 120 missiles and 90 drones against Ukraine, hitting energy infrastructure and residential areas across the country in what became one of the largest attacks during the war.
"The Netherlands will continue to support Ukraine in every way: politically, militarily, financially, and morally," Veldkamp said on X.
"Norway condemns this illegal war and continues to #StandWithUkraine, providing arms and support against Russia’s aggression," Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in the wake of the attack.
According to U.S. Ambassador to Kyiv Bridget A. Brink, the attack underscores how "Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine threatens the security of all of Europe."
Moldova's recently re-elected president, Maia Sandu, joined the condemnations, saying, "Weaponizing winter to freeze a nation into submission is cruel and unacceptable. Moldova stands with Ukraine."
Ukraine's neighbor Moldova has felt the effect of Russian attacks more directly, with missile and drone wreckage being discovered on Moldovan territory on several occasions in the past.
"Russia's deplorable strikes against Ukraine's energy infrastructure, ahead of Ukraine's 3rd winter of war, further shows Putin's desire to weaken the resolve of a country he thought would be beaten in days," U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said.
In an apparent reference to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said: "No-one will stop Putin with phone calls. The attack last night, one of the biggest in this war, has proved that telephone diplomacy cannot replace real support from the whole West for Ukraine."
Russia's latest barrage of missile strikes marks the first mass missile attack on Kyiv in over 2 months, with Russia instead utilizing more frequent drone strikes in recent months to attack the capital.
Moscow targeted "power generation and transmission facilities throughout Ukraine," according to Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko.
"The transmission system operator has urgently introduced emergency shutdowns," Halushchenko said. Officials have been warning that Russia may resume strikes on the energy grid as temperatures drop, mirroring the strategy used in the spring and summer of this year and in the autumn-winter season of 2022-2023.
Dmytro Basmat
