Photo Credit: Reuters
2025-12-27 07:08:00
According to Reuters, Russia launched a large-scale drone and missile assault on Ukraine just before Zelensky’s expected meeting with Trump, striking energy and civilian infrastructure as temperatures dropped.
The report said the attack involved waves of drones and missiles, intensifying pressure on Kyiv and sending a signal about Moscow’s readiness to escalate even as peace discussions gather pace.
Ukrainian officials linked the barrage to negotiation manoeuvres, arguing that infrastructure targeting is used to shape political outcomes by raising humanitarian costs.
With diplomacy and warfare now running in parallel, the risk is that any peace framework becomes hostage to real-time battlefield escalations.
The Washington Post said the assault left “a third of the capital without heating,” while The Guardian reported Zelensky is moving into talks insisting the plan is “90% ready,” but with core territorial issues unresolved.
Echotitbits take:
This is coercive bargaining—strike hard, then negotiate from a position of fear. Watch whether talks produce immediate de-escalation steps (like grid-protection commitments) or whether infrastructure attacks continue to force concessions.
Source: Reuters — December 27, 2025 (https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-drones-missiles-pound-ukraine-before-zelenskiy-trump-meeting-2025-12-27/)
Reuters December 27, 2025
