Zelenskyy Urges Latin American Leaders to Help Repair Ukraine Power Grid

OPA WIRE, Nov 6 (OPA) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to Latin American nations on Thursday for immediate assistance to rescue his country's power grid from relentless Russian bombardment. Addressing the 30th Ibero-American summit in Madrid, Zelenskyy stated that every power plant in Ukraine has been damaged to some degree by ongoing attacks. He asked leaders for direct industrial connections to supply specialized equipment, transformers, power cables, and generators as winter approaches.

"We need equipment that works with our power grid and we need it fast," Zelenskyy told the gathering of 22 Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking nations. Attendees in Spain included Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo, Honduran President Nasry Asfura, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and European Council President Antonio Costa. Zelenskyy also met with King Felipe VI to offer condolences over a recent train collision in Toledo and discuss the humanitarian toll of Russian strikes.

Repeated missile and drone strikes targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure have heightened concerns over another severe winter. Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko described the capital's energy supplies as extremely difficult on Tuesday. Zelenskyy emphasized the necessity of securing diplomatic support from Latin American nations at the United Nations General Assembly while condemning Russian mass killings through sustained bombardments.

The diplomatic outreach in Madrid coincides with US-led initiatives to restart peace negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow, with trilateral talks scheduled for next week in the United Arab Emirates. Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for Spain's ongoing assistance and stressed that Kyiv is actively working with international partners to reinforce air defense systems and safeguard civilian infrastructure against daily aerial assaults.