Ukraine warns of tough winter as Russia strikes kill 4 in Kyiv region

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned on August 8 during a visit to Belgrade that Ukraine faced a winter with virtually no functioning thermal power plants following Russian strikes. Speaking alongside Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Zelenskyy said Russian attacks had killed 13 people in the past 24 hours, including a child in the Kyiv region.

The Ukrainian leader highlighted that Russian missiles specifically targeted Ukraine's energy infrastructure, leaving the country with nearly no working thermal power plants as it prepared for the upcoming heating season. Zelenskyy's visit to Serbia, his first since becoming president in 2019, came amid increasing long-range strikes by Russia, which has intensified attacks on the Ukrainian capital in recent months.

Zelenskyy renewed calls for tougher sanctions to prevent the flow of missile parts into Russia from nearly every continent, including from close partners. Serbia, a longtime ally of Russia, remains one of the few European nations not to sanction Russia, though it continues to provide non-military aid to Ukraine. Vucic reiterated his government's stance that it had not discussed military cooperation with Ukraine, stating that their policy on supporting Ukraine's territorial integrity remained unwavering.