Ukraine is bracing for a difficult winter as restrictions on military applications of Starlink have emboldened Russia to intensify attacks on civilian and energy targets, a senior Ukrainian official told CNBC on Friday.
Serhiy Derkach, Ukraine’s first deputy minister for recovery, infrastructure and transport, said Russian forces had stepped up strikes on bridges in Kyiv, threatening to isolate nearly 2 million residents on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, while also targeting railway networks and border crossings in an effort to disrupt transport and sow panic among civilians.
“With U.S. limiting the use of Starlinks on the battlefield, Russia feels that this is their moment to try and inflict even more pain and suffering on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure,” Derkach said.
“We are definitely moving towards very harsh weeks and months and need our partners’ support now more than ever,” he said, adding that Ukrainians already experience blackouts lasting 4-12 hours per day.
His warning came as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday called for support from European leaders in Brussels to help Ukraine prepare a winter support package, including energy assistance, air defenses and funding.
Zelenskyy praised Europe’s “real leaders” for standing by Kyiv on Friday, as his strained relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump clouds a summit focused on securing further support for Ukraine.
“I’m so thankful that we have such huge support from EU Council Commission and leaders – real leaders,” Zelenskyy said, emphasizing Europe’s backing since the beginning of the war.
His remarks come as tensions between the U.S. and Ukraine have flared up after SpaceX’s Starlink service was restricted in Ukraine earlier this week, slowing down the connectivity Ukraine relies on to defend against Russian attacks.
Zelenskyy is also reportedly facing increasing pressure to tone down public criticism of Trump.
Three officials familiar with the EU summit preparations told the Financial Times that they plan to privately urge Zelenskyy to tone down his rhetoric when they meet him in Brussels on Friday.
According to Politico, some EU leaders are also concerned about Zelenskyy’s handling of his strained relationship with Trump, with one EU diplomat saying Zelenskyy’s public criticism of the president was “not helpful.”
“We want to end this war as quick as possible. We don’t see now signals from Russia side that they are ready for this to end this war,” Zelenskyy told reporters in Brussels on Friday after he on Wednesday lamented that Russia didn’t respect the “energy ceasefire” announced by Trump.
Trump last week surprised both Russian and Ukrainian officials by announcing the countries had agreed to stop attacking each other’s power infrastructure, in an apparent attempt to ease prices of oil and diesel ahead of the U.S. midterm elections in November.
Zelenskyy later welcomed the proposal and said Ukraine had held off strikes on Russian energy targets for three days to abide by Washington’s wishes, but he described the deal with Russia to supply diesel to global markets as “weak.”
Russia hasn’t confirmed it agreed to an energy ceasefire, saying only that talks are “ongoing.” Russian authorities didn’t respond to multiple CNBC requests for comment.
— CNBC’s George Bextor contributed to this report