Zelenskyy condemns ‘wicked’ attack on Ukraine
Jakub Krupa
Russia has launched a “wicked” attack on Ukraine overnight with 430 drones and 18 missiles, with the country’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying was “deliberately calculated” and “aimed at causing maximum harm to people and civilian infrastructure.”
At least four people were killed, with “dozens” wounded, including children, he said.
The attack largely targeted Kyiv, hitting “almost every district” of the capital, the head of the city’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, said on social media.
In his comments after the attack, Zelenskyy repeated his call that “the world must stop these attacks … with sanctions,” warning that “Russia is still able to sell oil and build its schemes.”
“All of this must end. A great deal of work is under way with partners to strengthen our air defence, but it is not enough. We need reinforcement with additional systems and interceptor missiles,” he said, calling for help from the EU and the US.
We will follow all reactions to the attack.
It’s Friday, 14 November 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Key events
EU ‘will not allow indifference to creep in’, parliament president says after overnight Kyiv attacks
The European parliament president Roberta Metsola has vowed to “not allow indifference to creep in” to European responses to Russian strikes on Ukraine, condemning Russia’s aggression on Kyiv overnight.
In a post on X, she said:
“Terrible scenes in Kyiv after last night’s sustained, indiscriminate, bombardment of residential areas by Russia. All my thoughts are with the victims, including the children, and their families.
More innocent people have been forced to pay the ultimate price for Russia’s illegal war.
We will not allow indifference to creep in and we will never accept the normalisation of aggression. @Europarl_EN will keep standing with the people of Ukraine as they fight for their freedom.”
Russia says Ukraine tried to attack Novovoronezh nuclear power plant with drones
Meanwhile, Russia said that around eight Ukrainian drones had tried to attack the Novovoronezh nuclear power plant in southwest Russia overnight, but all were shot down.
Alexei Likhachev, CEO of state nuclear corporation Rosatom, said several units of the plant were disconnected from the grid, but operations were restored in the morning, Reuters reported.
We have just had an update on the death toll from the overnight attack on Kyiv, via AFP, with authorities now reporting six people dead.
Russia launches massive attack on Kyiv – video
Elon Musk takes aim at EU’s von der Leyen as bloc steps up its digital efforts
Jennifer Rankin
in Brussels
In other news …
The tech billionaire Elon Musk has been sniping at the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, in response to the EU’s latest effort to combat disinformation.
Musk, a prolific user of the X platform he owns, questioned why von der Leyen was not directly elected by European voters, a frequent complaint of Eurosceptics.
In one error-laden post viewed by nearly 20 million people, he said:
“The leader of the EU should be elected by the people of the EU, not appointed by a committee!”
Von der Leyen is not “the” EU leader. Nor was she appointed by a committee.
As plenty of X users were quick to point out, the EU is not a government, has numerous leaders in charge of different institutions and countries, while von der Leyen was appointed by 27 heads of state and government and elected by the European parliament.
Predictably, Musk was praised by those who share his opinion, notably the chief of staff to Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán.
Musk was responding to a post on X from the commission promoting the EU’s “democracy shield,” a plan to combat disinformation and meddling in European elections that was published on Wednesday.
The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But Musk’s aggressive criticism is a difficult issue for the commission, which is under pressure from US tech companies and Donald Trump to weaken its digital laws.
The EU executive has also faced criticism in Europe for slow progress in finalising an investigation into potential deceptive practices by X among other allegations, which was opened in December 2023.
The EU official in charge of this investigation, executive vice-president Henna Virkkunen, was asked on Wednesday when the commission would conclude its investigation. Without referring to any specific company, she said the commission would be able to conclude some of its investigations “in the next weeks and months”.
The investigation on X falls under the EU’s Digital Services Act (to protect against internet harms) while other tech companies are being probed through the Digital Markets Act (to ensure fair competition).
Virkunnen told reporters:
“These are new pieces of legislation and we have really to collect all the evidence before we are making decisions.”
Overnight attack on Kyiv — in pictures
Ukrainian drones force suspension of oil exports at key Russian port
Elsewhere, Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, a key outlet for Russian commodity shipments, suspended oil exports after what authorities said was a major Ukrainian drone attack, two industry sources told Reuters.
The attack, one of the biggest on Russian oil-exporting infrastructure in recent months, comes after Ukraine in August stepped up strikes on Russian oil refineries in an attempt to degrade Moscow’s ability to finance its war, Reuters noted.
Hungary looks to sue EU over ban on Russian gas imports
Meanwhile, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán said that his government would take the European Union to court over its decision last month to phase out Russian gas imports, AFP reported.
The agency noted that Hungary – the Kremlin’s closest ally in the 27-nation EU – still depends heavily on Russian energy imports despite Moscow invading Ukraine in 2022.
EU countries last month agreed to phase out their remaining gas imports from Russia by the end of 2027. All but Hungary and Slovakia supported the latest move, according to diplomats.
“We do not accept this obviously unlawful solution contrary to European values, which was chosen by Brussels to shut down a national government that disagrees with it,” Orban told state radio in his weekly interview.
“We are turning to the European court of justice.”
“This is no longer a sanction but a trade policy measure,” he continued of the EU decision.
The nationalist premier added he was also “looking for other, non-legal” means to dissuade Brussels but said he would not give details for now, AFP said.
Zelenskyy to visit Macron in Paris on Monday
And it looks like Zelenskyy will be also making trips to brief some leaders in person, as the Élysée Palace has just announced that the Ukrainian president will visit France’s Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday.
The French president will “reaffirm … France’s commitment to Ukraine’s security,” and the pair will also discuss cooperations in areas such as energy, defence, and the economy, Reuters reported.
Zelenskyy tasks diplomats with briefing partners on Russian strikes on civilian, energy targets
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has issued a further update after overnight attacks on Ukraine, saying he tasked the country’s diplomats to “fully brief our partners on the Russian attacks, their nature and their chosen targets.”
“Russia continues its terror against Ukrainian cities, specifically against civilian infrastructure – and the key targets for Russia last night were residential areas in Kyiv and energy facilities,” he said.
Curiously, Zelenskyy also disclosed that Ukraine used “Long Neptune” missiles for strikes against targets in Russia, which he said was “our entirely just response to Russia’s ongoing terror.”
“Ukrainian missiles are delivering increasingly significant and precise results virtually every month,” he said.
‘Families went to sleep expecting normal night and faced terror from sky,’ Ukrainian PM says
Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko also called the attack “unprecedented,” saying that around 30 residential buildings in Kyiv were hit.
She said 26 people were injured, including two children and a pregnant woman.
These are families who went to sleep expecting a normal night, and instead faced terror from the sky.
She added:
“Every such attack underscores a clear and urgent truth: Ukraine needs air defences and decisive steps to increase pressure on the aggressor. The long-awaited decision on frozen Russian assets must move forward without delay. This is a strategic necessity.”
Zelenskyy condemns ‘wicked’ attack on Ukraine
Jakub Krupa
Russia has launched a “wicked” attack on Ukraine overnight with 430 drones and 18 missiles, with the country’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying was “deliberately calculated” and “aimed at causing maximum harm to people and civilian infrastructure.”
At least four people were killed, with “dozens” wounded, including children, he said.
The attack largely targeted Kyiv, hitting “almost every district” of the capital, the head of the city’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, said on social media.
In his comments after the attack, Zelenskyy repeated his call that “the world must stop these attacks … with sanctions,” warning that “Russia is still able to sell oil and build its schemes.”
“All of this must end. A great deal of work is under way with partners to strengthen our air defence, but it is not enough. We need reinforcement with additional systems and interceptor missiles,” he said, calling for help from the EU and the US.
We will follow all reactions to the attack.
It’s Friday, 14 November 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
