Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned of repercussions for local officials and diplomats he believes are not doing enough to address the country’s escalating energy crisis, triggered by ongoing Russian bombardments. The announcement comes as Ukraine continues to seek international support to counter the attacks and pressure Russia to end the conflict.
“Of course, there are those who are really working effectively and there are those who are just being called authorities and not doing enough for the people. There will be consequences,” Zelenskyy said in a video posted on social media.
Zelenskyy urged “the entire Ukrainian diplomatic corps” to continue highlighting the devastation caused by Russian strikes on the country’s energy system and other infrastructure abroad.
“I expect effective work from the entire Ukrainian diplomatic corps, including Ukraine’s embassies. If an embassy remains silent, it means the work is not satisfactory. Ukraine needs to be heard all over the world,” he emphasized.
The Ukrainian leader likewise stated he anticipates progress on the issue this week.
“We need support for Ukraine. We need to put pressure on Russia. We need to end the war without any concessions to the aggressor. We need to change the situation so that Europe is not affected by new Russian attacks, new acts of aggression and massive attacks on other European countries,” he declared.
In recent days, Zelenskyy has publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with how local authorities have been handling power outages resulting from the Russian attacks. He has also criticized the Air Force, demanding more from its leadership in countering the nightly waves of drones launched by Russia.
The most critical energy supply situation currently exists in the areas around the capital, Kyiv, as well as in Sumy, Kharkiv, and Poltava in northern Ukraine, and in several zones within the central Dnipropetrovsk region, including his hometown of Kryvyi Rih.
