KYIV: Ukraine on Thursday urged the European Union to include in its new sanctions package measures that would target Russia’s missile industry, after Moscow’s systematic strikes on the country’s energy grid.

Following military defeats on the ground, Russia began targeting Ukrainian energy facilities, causing severe damage and power shortages ahead of winter.

“I thanked the EU for its continued defence assistance and stressed that next EU sanctions should include those hitting Russia’s missile production industry: it must be put to a halt,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on social media.

After meeting EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell at regional security talks in Poland, Kuleba wrote on Twitter that they agreed that “total war against Ukraine means total support for Ukraine”.

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On Thursday, Ukraine’s electricity operator said that nearly half of the country’s electricity grid remained damaged after the Russian strikes last week disrupted power to millions of people.