NATO-Ukraine Council convenes due to Russia's attacks on energy infrastructure

The NATO-Ukraine Council held an extraordinary meeting on March 28 at Kyiv's request in response to Russia's missile attacks on critical infrastructure, Ukraine's Mission to NATO said.

Russia launched its largest attack against Ukraine's power grid on March 22, causing a blackout in Kharkiv and dealing heavy damage to Zaporizhzhia's Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant.

The meeting was held at NATO headquarters in Brussels at the ambassadorial level.

Defense Minister Rustem Umerov addressed the session online and briefed the allies about the consequences of the Russian attacks and the response measures taken by Ukraine.

Umerov also called on NATO partners to provide additional air defense systems and missiles to help better protect Ukrainian cities and citizens.

"The support of partners in this matter is crucial. It will save thousands of innocent lives," Umerov said on X.

"The more Russian missiles are shot down in Ukrainian skies, the less threat they pose to NATO member states that border Ukraine."

Some experts connected the recent uptick in Russian missile attacks with Ukraine's dwindling stocks of air defense ammunition. The shortages are largely caused by delays in U.S. assistance, which has been stuck in Congress for months.

The U.S. Senate passed a $95 foreign aid bill, allocating $60 billion for Ukraine, in February, but House Speaker Mike Johnson has not yet put it to a vote in the lower chamber. Some U.S. lawmakers said that Johnson is likely to introduce the Ukraine aid bill after Easter.

Russia aims to knock out Ukraine’s power grid in new wave of attacks

Editor’s note: The article was updated on March 27 with comments from Roman Nitsovych, a research director at DiXi Group. Russia launched a fresh wave of missile and drone attacks against Ukraine between March 21-25, hitting the country’s critical infrastructure heavier than ever before. Some 190…

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek