Kyiv is very keen to get the advanced Patriot air defense system for its army from the West. For a long time, NATO was very hesitant about this wish. According to media reports, the United States now wants to deliver one of these missile systems to the Ukrainian troops. An official confirmation of this is still pending.

According to the Ukrainian army, 74 rockets were fired by Russian forces on Friday alone. According to Zelenskyy, there were power outages in Kyiv and 14 other regions of the country as a result. Work is currently underway to restore the supply.

"Our engineers and repair teams started work during the air raid alert," Zelensky said. At the same time, he asked his compatriots to be patient: the power grid is being repaired - but "that takes time".

Russia has been regularly attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure for weeks. Millions of people are therefore without electricity and heating when the temperature is below zero. According to state-owned utility Ukrenergo, around half of Ukraine's power grid is badly damaged.