Overnight exchanges between Russia and Ukraine killed at least four people and marked another round of deliberate infrastructure targeting on both sides. A Russian strike on a facility in Odesa killed three and left one critically wounded. In Russia, a Ukrainian drone attack set fire to the Kirishi refinery — the country's second-largest — in the Leningrad region, while falling drone debris killed one woman. Ukraine also struck the Morozov Plant near St. Petersburg, which produces explosives and fuel for Russian missiles. The targeting calculus is now explicitly industrial. Ukraine is reaching deeper into Russia's energy and defense-production backbone, hitting refineries and munitions factories that feed the war machine directly. Russia, meanwhile, is grinding down Ukraine's civilian energy infrastructure at an extraordinary pace — 128 strikes on energy and oil-and-gas sites in a single week, according to Ukraine's Energy Ministry. The Kyiv, Dnipro, Sumy, Donetsk, and Kherson regions face the most acute power, water, and heating crises as winter approaches. Russia's Leningrad governor reported 113 Ukrainian drones intercepted overnight, alongside damage to an apartment in Kirishi. Russian forces also claimed to have struck three Ukrainian power substations and a Black Sea cargo ship allegedly supplying arms to Ukrainian forces. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the cargo ship claim. Zelenskyy announced a new mechanism with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to fast-track EU emergency funding for energy infrastructure repairs. "Our teams are already working on this," Zelenskyy said. The agreement reflects a structural reality: Ukraine cannot repair its grid at the pace Russia is destroying it without external financial acceleration. Diplomatically, the upcoming Abu Dhabi talks remain contentious before they start. The Kremlin insists the format is strictly trilateral — Russia, Ukraine, and the US as mediator — pushing back on French Foreign Minister Barrot's claim that Europe would be represented. Zelenskyy said he coordinated negotiating positions with von der Leyen ahead of the talks, attempting to keep European interests embedded even if Europe is not formally at the table. Trump's announcement of a "very big" deal with Russia involving "all of Europe" has stoked fears in Kyiv and European capitals that Washington may prioritize a geopolitical grand bargain over Ukrainian sovereignty. The framing — "all of Europe" — suggests an ambition well beyond bilateral ceasefire terms, raising the stakes for every party heading into Abu Dhabi. The war's current phase is a test of industrial endurance. Ukraine is trying to degrade Russia's refining capacity and munitions production faster than Russia can degrade Ukraine's ability to heat homes and keep lights on. Both sides are betting that the other's infrastructure is the weaker link. The EU funding mechanism is an admission that Ukraine is losing that particular race without external support.
