Russia Intercepts Over 600 Drones Even After Trump Called Ukraine's Attacks On Refineries A 'Disgrace'
On Friday Russia's Defense Ministry announced that 644 Ukrainian drones were intercepted over 26 Russian regions as well as Crimea.
Some Russian sources said among the targets was a data center owned by tech giant Yandex in Vladimir - after Ukraine made it known it is going after the country's data centers, and as the war against the refineries has not let up.
These attacks persist despite President Trump having slammed Ukraine's policy on attacking Russian energy at a moment of global diesel shortages as a "disgrace".
"If you tell me that Zelenskyy is again shooting at refineries, all he’s doing is making the world oil price higher," Trump has said in a Newsmax interview Friday. "I think that’s a disgrace. There’s plenty of other targets; they don’t have to hit."
"Zelenskyy is not a good guy for us to deal with" on the war, the presdient said, adding that "I think they actually both would like to see it end, but I think I find Zelenskyy to be more difficult to deal with than Putin."
Drones have also persisted on the capital, with nearly 100 Ukrainian UAVs having been shot down between Thursday night and Friday, local authorities reported.
But Ukraine is also getting pummeled, with whole regions without electricity in a northwest region of the country. A recent Russian assault on the eastern city of Kharkiv killed three people and injured five.
Russia's own systematic destruction of Ukraine's energy infrastructure also continues.
TASS writes, citing Ukraine's Zelensky, "The Ukrainian energy sector was confronted by one of the most massive strikes on its facilities on October 16 when over 15 major electric power generation and transmission sites were attacked, Zelensky said on his Telegram channel."
"Over 15 major power generation and transmission facilities were attacked in various regions of Ukraine... The most difficult situation has emerged in Lutsk, Rovno, Zhitomir, Vinnitsa, Shepetovka, Slavuta and Neteshin. The strikes were also delivered on energy sites in the Kharkov, Kiev, Dnepropetrovsk and other regions," Zelensky was quoted as saying.
🚨🇺🇦🇪🇺🇷🇺 Zelensky puts a figure on war with Russia: "The war will cost 155 billion euros next year. And we need at least 70 billion euros more from you: for defense, for weapons, and for our resilience. This is a realistic amount. And I ask you to find this support. It will help us hold Russia back. There are some very simple facts. We stop most Russian assaults on the front line thanks to drones. We cut Russian supply lines with these technologies. And our drones are helping to weaken Russia’s economy. Right now, we could produce 2-3x more drones, depending on the type. But we simply don’t have enough money for that. It’s true. Just imagine if we could put 2-3x times more pressure on Russia than we do today." Writer: Michael https://t.co/W1Qqr8XuIT
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 16, 2026
For the time being at least, it doesn't look like the Ukrainian government will heed Trump's calls to halt the nightly attacks on Russian energy. Zelensky is also busy seeking to ensure European leaders are on his side in standing up to Trump, as the relationship with Washington continues to sour.
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