Russia attacks Ukraine's power grid as Moscow worries over US Tomahawk missiles

Russia attacked Ukraine’s power grid overnight, part of an ongoing campaign to cripple Ukrainian energy infrastructure before winter, and expressed “extreme concern” over the U.S. potentially providing Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine.

Kyiv regional Gov. Mykola Kalashnyk said two employees of Ukraine’s largest private energy company DTEK were wounded in Russian strikes on a substation. Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said that infrastructure was also targeted in the regions of Donetsk, Odesa and Chernihiv.

“Russia continues its aerial terror against our cities and communities, intensifying strikes on our energy infrastructure,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X, noting that Russia had launched “more than 3,100 drones, 92 missiles, and around 1,360 glide bombs” over the past week.

Zelenskyy called for tighter secondary sanctions on buyers of Russian oil. “Sanctions, tariffs, and joint actions against the buyers of Russian oil — those who finance this war — must all remain on the table,” he wrote, adding he had a “very productive” phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, in which they discussed strengthening Ukraine's “air defense, resilience, and long-range capabilities," along with “details related to the energy sector."

Their discussion followed an earlier conversation on Saturday, Zelenskyy said, during which the leaders agreed on Sunday's topics.

In an interview with Fox News Channel’s “The Sunday Briefing" after his call with Trump, Zelenskyy was asked whether Trump had approved the Tomahawks.

“We work on it,” he said. "And I'm waiting for president to yes. Of course we count on such decisions, but we will see. We will see.”

Zelenskyy said Friday that he was in talks with U.S. officials about the possible provision of various long-range precision strike weapons, including Tomahawks and more ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles.

Trump, who has been frustrated by Russia in his efforts to end the war, said last week that he has “sort of made a decision” on whether to send Tomahawks to Ukraine, without elaborating. A senior Ukrainian delegation is set to visit the U.S. this week.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in remarks published Sunday that “the topic of Tomahawks is of extreme concern.”

“Now is really a very dramatic moment in terms of the fact that tensions are escalating from all sides,” he told Russian state television reporter Pavel Zarubin.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, also said in comments released Sunday that he doubts the U.S. will provide Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles.

“I think we need to calm down in this regard. Our friend Donald … sometimes he takes a more forceful approach, and then, his tactic is to let go a little and step back. Therefore, we shouldn’t take this literally, as if it’s going to fly tomorrow,” Lukashenko told Zarubin, who posted them on his Telegram channel on Sunday.

Ukraine’s energy sector has been a key battleground since Russia launched its all-out invasion more than three years ago.

The latest attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid came after Russian drone and missile strikes wounded at least 20 people in Kyiv, damaged residential buildings and caused blackouts across the country Friday, which Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko described as “one of the largest concentrated strikes” against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Each year, Russia has tried to cripple the Ukrainian power grid before the bitter winter season, apparently hoping to erode public morale. Winter temperatures run from late October through March, with January and February the coldest months.

Ukraine’s air force said Saturday that its air defenses intercepted or jammed 103 of 118 Russian drones launched against Ukraine overnight, while Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had shot down 32 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

In this photo provided by Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade press service, recruits attend drills at a training ground in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (Andriy Andriyenko/Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade via AP)

In this photo provided by Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade press service, recruits attend drills at a training ground in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (Andriy Andriyenko/Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade via AP)

In this photo provided by Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade press service, recruits attend drills at a training ground in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (Andriy Andriyenko/Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade via AP)

In this photo provided by Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade press service, recruits attend drills at a training ground in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (Andriy Andriyenko/Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media that the U.S. Coast Guard had boarded the Motor Tanker Veronica early Thursday. She said the ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”

U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”

Noem posted a brief video that appeared to show part of the ship’s capture. The black-and-white footage showed helicopters hovering over the deck of a merchant vessel while armed troops dropped down on the deck by rope.

The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, it was partially filled with crude.

The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.

According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Galileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for moving cargoes of illicit Russian oil.

As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”

However, other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear that they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.

Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro's capture.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)