Russia attacked Ukraine's energy facilities 200 times in a week, UK Foreign Secretary says
Russia-Ukraine
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband stated at the Warsaw Security Forum in Poland on October 13, 2026, that Russia had attacked Ukrainian energy facilities 200 times over the past week. In materials released on the same day, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office stated that Russia had deployed 1,450 bombs and 1,600 drones toward Ukraine during the same period. Secretary Miliband said European partners must work together to back the energy ceasefire supported by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The energy ceasefire is a proposal to stop attacks on energy facilities, raised at a time when Ukraine is facing winter once again amidst blackouts and severe cold.
https://x.com/Ed_Miliband/status/2110048018749661459
The UK government stated that while Ukraine continues to take steps toward peace, Russia seeks to weaponize winter and plunge communities into darkness. Secretary Miliband said that prior to the forum, he met children in Kyiv last week who had grown up knowing nothing but strikes, blackouts, and freezing cold every winter. He said that Russian strikes cannot be allowed to dictate whether the people of Ukraine can turn on their lights or switch on their heating. He noted that Russia is not stopping in Ukraine, and that its European counterpart is testing defense systems, targeting infrastructure with cyberattacks and sabotage, and attempting to weaken resolve for Ukraine. He said that those who seek to weaken democracies gain strength from division, so the answer must be unity, backing President Zelenskyy and supporting Ukraine with an energy ceasefire.
At the Warsaw Security Forum, how Europe will respond to hybrid attacks from hostile states in the future was a major agenda item. Secretary Miliband attended a panel event alongside the foreign ministers of Poland, Germany, and Norway. Viewing Russia's actions as posing an immediate and urgent threat to the British way of life, the UK government urged European partners to mobilize their economic, industrial, and political power with greater purpose to defend their people, interests, and way of life. The UK government explained that Russia's attempts to destabilize Europe also represent an immediate threat to the UK's security and prosperity.
The UK government stated that attempts to destabilize infrastructure are deliberate threats targeting the systems underpinning growth and security. The UK stated that the new National Information Defence Centre and a new cooperation with Germany to counter hybrid threats will strengthen defenses for both the nation and the continent as a whole. The partnership with Germany and the information defense body fall within the framework of countering cyberattacks, sabotage, and activities targeting the information space. The UK government stated that this measure is being pursued alongside the largest sustained increase in defense spending since the Cold War, with over £300 billion in defense investment over the next four years. The defense spending figures were included in the same announcement calling for an energy ceasefire.
The UK government assesses that the scope of Russia's activities has spilled beyond Ukraine's borders into Europe. The UK government stated that with near-weekly drone incursions along NATO's eastern flank and continuous cyberattacks and sabotage targeting critical infrastructure, Moscow's hybrid attacks are being felt across Europe, with Poland on the front line. It added that as hybrid sabotage increasingly targets energy, infrastructure, and the information space, it has the potential to genuinely affect the daily lives of British people. If infrastructure attacks lead to power and heating issues during winter, the impact on civilian life magnifies.
The UK government cited an incident in December 2025 where Russia attacked Poland's energy grid, nearly leaving close to 500,000 people without power in midwinter, as well as a train sabotage incident the previous month where mass casualties were narrowly avoided. Both cases occurred outside Ukraine. In one instance, a neighboring country's power grid was targeted, and in the other, a train. Secretary Miliband met with Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski in Warsaw to emphasize the UK's solidarity with Poland as it directly confronts Russian threats. The two ministers discussed that the UK-Poland Northolt Treaty signed earlier this year deepened cooperation across defense, security, and economic resilience, strengthening their joint response to hybrid activities including cyber and sabotage.
The call for an energy ceasefire came immediately after Secretary Miliband's first visit to Ukraine. The UK Foreign Office stated that on October 8, 2026, Secretary Miliband made his first visit to Ukraine as Foreign Secretary, meeting President Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. Together with President Zelenskyy, he visited the site of a residential building in the Chernihiv region where at least 22 people died in a recent strike. During this site visit, the UK government announced a £54 million energy and humanitarian support package for winter preparedness. Of this, £20 million will be used for Ukrainian energy security, investing in emergency grid repair teams following strikes, backup generators and solar power for blackouts, and new technologies to diversify power supply.
https://x.com/Ed_Miliband/status/2108176302750474508
The remaining £34 million will be used to protect and maintain heating and water for Ukrainian households ahead of winter and provide direct cash assistance. The UK government stated that this support will be delivered in partnership with the Ukrainian government and on-the-ground support organizations such as UNICEF, UNHCR, and the Ukrainian Red Cross. Earlier this year, Ukraine experienced its coldest winter in a decade, with temperatures plunging to minus 20 degrees Celsius, leaving millions in the dark. At the time, the UK supported more than 1 million vulnerable civilians by delivering generators and restoring damaged water and heating services. The UK government stated that it has provided more than £1 billion in humanitarian and energy support to Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion.
The October 8 announcement also included measures targeting Russia's war chest alongside energy support. The UK announced a sanctions package covering around 40 targets across Russia's financial, oil, and technology sectors, stating that this measure brings more than 90 percent of Russia's total oil production capacity under the UK sanctions regime. The UK has sanctioned more than 600 vessels under its Russia sanctions regulations, bringing the total number of UK sanctions against Russia to over 3,500. While visiting wounded Ukrainian soldiers receiving treatment in a hospital, Secretary Miliband also announced £6.3 million in support to aid Ukraine's domestic efforts in holding perpetrators of war crimes to justice and account. Sanctions, justice support, and energy support correspond to the components of the three pillars of support put forward by the UK that target Russian war funding lines and enhance Ukrainian resilience.
The UK government described its support for Ukraine through three pillars: strengthening Ukrainian resilience, countering entities funding Russia's war machine, and bolstering NATO security along with taking strong action against threats to UK national security. Secretary Miliband said that while Russia could end the war tomorrow, it has instead escalated attacks, including against critical infrastructure and Ukrainian cultural heritage. He stated that Ukraine is not only on the front line of Europe's and NATO's security, but also at the center of a global struggle to uphold the principles of justice and the rule of law. Addressing President Vladimir Putin, he said that he cannot wait it out to win, and that UK support for Ukraine, shared values, and national security will not cease until peace is chosen.