KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian attacks on nine regions of Ukraine caused emergency power outages for hundreds of thousands of households and damaged numerous homes, wounding at least 15 people, officials said Friday, as civilian casualties from Moscow’s invasion climb steeply.
The latest aerial strikes on civilian targets came as fears mount that a sharp deterioration in relations between Kyiv and Washington this week could leave Ukraine further exposed to Russia’s escalating aerial assaults as the bitter winter approaches.
Russia’s heavy bombardment of the power grid before winter sets in has been an annual feature of the war, aiming to wear down Ukraine’s appetite for the fight by denying civilians heating and running water. Ukrainian officials have warned Russia is stockpiling ballistic missiles for more attacks in coming months.
Ukraine on Thursday abandoned a brief truce on energy-related targets that it said Moscow did not heed despite U.S. President Donald Trump's demand for a ceasefire.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday attended a summit of European leaders who share his concerns about Russian aggression and Moscow’s wider plans on the continent. The officials in Brussels vowed to maintain support for Ukraine and urged the U.S. to put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Tension and uncertainty are gripping Ukraine and Europe after Zelenskyy and Trump publicly made cutting remarks about each other. On Thursday, Zelenskyy said he felt betrayed by the American president and Trump openly declared his dislike of the Ukrainian leader.
Arriving at the EU summit in Belgium, Zelenskyy thanked the 27-nation bloc for its support from what he said were “real leaders.”
“We want to end this war as (quickly) as possible,” Zelenskyy told reporters. “We don’t see now signals from (the) Russian side that they are ready for this, to end this war. That’s why we have to prepare for the winter.”
The public spat between Trump and Zelenskyy raised the specter of further reductions in U.S. support for Ukraine’s war effort.
Ukraine is desperately short of the U.S.-made Patriot missiles it needs to protect against Russia’s devastating ballistic missile attacks, despite Zelenskyy’s pleading for Washington to send more.
Zelenskyy complained about a breakdown in Western intelligence sharing and sudden restrictions on the use of Starshield, U.S. company SpaceX’s military-grade version of the Starlink satellite internet service that is the backbone of Ukraine’s drone operations and military communications.
He also slammed Trump’s diesel deal with Russia, which came despite an international effort to sanction Russia and diplomatically isolate Putin over his invasion. Trump promised to swiftly end the war, but Ukrainian officials have complained he is trying to bulldoze Zelenskyy into surrendering land to Russia.
The EU is working to persuade Washington to stick with Ukraine, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
“We are trying to convince also our American partners that if we want to end this war then we have to squeeze the aggressor,” Kallas said. “With our American allies it’s very difficult at the moment.”
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, whose country currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, said there is “a lot of concern around Europe in terms of what’s happening in Ukraine right now.”
Russia is blitzing not just Ukraine's power grid but also apartment buildings, public transport, cargo ships, data centers and food stores.
Ukrainian civilians are paying a high price for the escalating Russian attacks, the United Nations human rights office in Kyiv said in a monthly report published Friday.
At least 328 civilians were killed and 2,105 wounded last month, a total that is 85% higher than in September last year, the report said, noting that intensifying Russian attacks in October already have killed dozens of civilians, including children.
“The first two weeks of October were among the deadliest periods for civilians in years,” said Danielle Bell, the head of the U.N. office.
Ukraine is using domestically developed long-range drones to hit back at Russia.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Friday its air defenses overnight intercepted 644 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions, illegally annexed Crimea and the Black Sea.
Nearly 160 flights were delayed or canceled at Moscow's four airports, according to the state-backed Moskva news agency. Data from Rosaviatsia, Russia’s civil aviation authority, showed restrictions on the four airports were in place from late Thursday night through early Friday.
Another 46 flights were delayed or canceled at St. Petersburg airport, which also faced overnight restrictions, local media reported.
Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal. AP reporter Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, walks behind EU leaders as he arrives for a round table meeting at the EU summit in Brussels, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, left, greets Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, during a round table meeting at the EU summit in Brussels, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
From left, European Council President Antonio Costa, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrive for the EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — A string of drone attacks on at least seven cargo vessels in the Black Sea this month, off the coasts of NATO members Romania and Bulgaria, has some members of the alliance wondering if Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking escalation to test their support for Ukraine in its war against Moscow's full-scale invasion.
The attacks in the two countries' exclusive economic zones threaten a global shipping route and have left two people dead, with at least 25 still missing. They also run the risk of drawing other countries directly into the war for Ukraine.
Throughout the war, Russia has repeatedly bombarded Ukraine’s Black Sea and Danube river ports, leaving Kyiv increasingly reliant on alternative routes to get its grain exports to markets in Africa and the Middle East. Russian drones have repeatedly violated Romanian airspace near some of Ukraine's Danube ports.
In the latest incidents, fires broke out on two ships struck by drones Wednesday and Thursday, one in Romania's territorial waters.
Romanian President Nicusor Dan said Thursday in Brussels that “two drones” had hit the vessels but did not say whose drones they were. “There will be a reaction from the Romanian state,” he warned.
Increasingly, the suspicion falls on Russia. “There is no logic in Ukraine attacking its own ships and crews, given that the outcome of all these attacks favors Russia — and indeed, the logic points in that direction,” Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev told his country’s Parliament.
“The problem is that we cannot prove it.”
The San Marino-flagged Wine Trader, a chemical tanker traveling from Tunisia to Romania, was struck by a drone Thursday and caught fire. Five crew members were rescued but another seven are missing.
On Wednesday, a drone strike and fire were reported on the Comoros-flagged Yara J, a chemical and oil tanker traveling from Turkey to Romania. Romania’s acting Defense Minister Radu Miruta said an investigation was underway.
On Tuesday, two ships were struck by drones off Bulgaria's coast. Rescuers evacuated all 15 crew members from the Ukraine-operated Chelsea 3, sailing under a Maltese flag, but 11 crew from the Guinea-Bissau-flagged HS Dignity are still missing.
The crew of the Chelsea 3 reported the ship’s deck and hull were hit by three aerial drones.
Earlier this month, sea and aerial drones attacked two other commercial vessels in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone. A Togo-flagged ship sank with no sign of the 12 sailors reported on board, while a Bulgarian ferry evacuated 18 crew members from a Palau-flagged vessel that was damaged.
A day earlier, a Turkish-owned cargo ship carrying corn caught fire following a drone attack and later sank off the coast of Romania. Two people died and 11 crew members were rescued. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as “a horrific strike by two Russian drones on a civilian vessel” in neutral waters.
Russia's ambassador in Sofia, Bulgaria, said she didn't have any information from the Russian defense ministry.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on X on Thursday that he met Radev and Dan to discuss security in the Black Sea and “the latest attacks on commercial shipping.”
“NATO has strengthened our posture along the eastern flank including with increasing counter-drone capabilities,” he said. “NATO will continue to work closely with our Allies in the Black Sea, adjusting our deterrence and defense posture as needed.”
Article 5 of the NATO charter has a mutual defense guarantee — an attack on one is an attack on all — but Romanian defense analyst Radu Tudor said it was uncertain as to whether it covers many of the Black Sea drone strikes because they occurred in the alliance members’ exclusive economic zones.
“It’s a matter of discussion whether the exclusive economic zone is included in the Article 5-type reaction or not,” he said. “And it seems that until now, it isn’t — which raised a lot of questions.”
NATO has been too slow to respond in the Black Sea, he argued.
“Tens of incidents are happening and Russia is getting closer to NATO borders. … Words are not enough,” Tudor said.
The Black Sea drone incidents in October are just the latest in a long string of drone airspace incursions to rock Romania and other NATO members since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While most have come from Russia, Ukrainian drones have also crossed borders.
In August, Romania deployed two F-16 fighter jets to destroy a naval drone that was reportedly carrying explosives and was spotted near a major Black Sea gas project, a decision that Acting Defense Minister Miruta said was made to “protect the lives of the several hundred people” working on the gas platform.
A source in Romania's defense sector, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the incidents, told The Associated Press that the attacks are designed to hurt Ukraine economically and that “Romania is not the target right now.”
“All summer we’ve been hunting all kinds of (drone) debris, water drones, sea drones, air drones, debris in the water, on the beaches,” they said. “If this continues … someone should do something about that.”
The source added they have heard Turkey “would like to summon all the riparian (Black Sea) states to plan a mission to escort these convoys” through a militarized safe corridor.
“I’m not sure about Turkish, but our Romanian vessels don’t have anti-air defense systems to protect against drones,” they said. “That would be a high risk for the Navy, for military vessels to escort this.”
In July, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey expanded the Black Sea Mine Countermeasures Task Force naval pact to “expand the missions to the protection of critical submarine infrastructure,” according to Romania's defense ministry. It would include, it said, a permanent naval presence in Romania’s exclusive economic zone.
Many commercial vessels are flagged to one country and owned by a company based elsewhere.
“Why would Romania and Turkey escort a ship from Bermuda with, I don’t know, an Argentinian owner just to transport a few hundred tons of grains from Egypt?” the source said. “It’s difficult.”
Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said Wednesday that the country plans to join NATO’s Drone Edge project by the end of October. Launched in July, the initiative — which Romania also joined — aims to invest over $40 billion in “counter-drone capabilities” over the next five years.
Cezar Gheorghe, founder of grain consultancy firm Agricolumn, told the AP that the drone incidents have not negatively impacted trade at Romania’s Black Sea port of Constanta. The main concern is a rise in insurance costs in the wider Black Sea, he said.
“The (premium) for the risk is increasing, ... everyone that wants to come to Constanta, let’s say from Turkey, from the Bosphorus Strait and across that area, will have a (premium) on insurance costs,” he said. He added his main concern is a “serious incident” occurring at or near Constanta. In June, a Ukrainian maritime drone exploded at the port, and three others nearby.
“It’s a matter of time,” he said.
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McGrath reported from Leamington Spa, England.
FILE - A Romanian naval serviceman guards onboard the M-270 Mine-hunter during a Romanian Navy led exercise outside Constanta, Romania, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru, File)
FILE - Romanian naval servicemen stand next to a gun onboard the M-270 Mine-hunter during a Romanian Navy led exercise outside Constanta, Romania, on April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru, File)
FILE - Romanian warships sail during a Romanian Navy led exercise outside Constanta, Romania, on April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru, File)
FILE - Romanian warships sail engulfed in smoke during a Romanian Navy led exercise outside Constanta, Romania, on April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru, File)
