MOSCOW - Russian forces carried out a group strike on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and drone production and storage sites over the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
The raids were conducted in response to Ukrainian attacks on civilian infrastructure inside Russia, the ministry said in a statement.
"All designated targets were hit," it said.
READ MORE: Zelensky: US aims to end Russia-Ukraine conflict by summer
The ministry also said that Russian forces attacked military airfield infrastructure, transport facilities used by Ukrainian forces, and temporary deployment points of Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries in 147 locations.
Additionally, the ministry said Russian air defense systems downed five long-range cruise missiles, six guided aerial bombs, eight rockets fired from US-made HIMARS rocket systems, and 211 fixed-wing drones.
Aid package
Britain announced a new half-a-billion-pound ($680 million) package for urgent air defense support to Ukraine on Thursday during a NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels.
"Today, I'm announcing a new half-a-billion-pound package of urgent air defense support, which is President Zelensky's top priority," said British Defense Secretary John Healey at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG).
He explained that 150 million pounds of the total will be allocated for air defense interceptors in the "Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List" (PURL) program, a NATO-led US arms-buying scheme, and 400 million pounds will be used for lightweight multirole missiles.
In addition, Britain will provide an extra 1,200 air defense missiles together with its partners from the air defense consortium.
Healey also said that in 2025, the UDCG collectively raised $45 billion in military aid for Ukraine, and for 2026, they "must do more and push harder."
NATO defense ministers held a meeting here on Thursday to discuss issues including strengthening collective security in the Arctic and supporting Ukraine.
Election
Zelensky denied plans to announce a presidential election and a referendum on a peace agreement on Feb 24, the Ukrinform news agency reported Wednesday.
Zelensky told reporters that Ukraine would hold an election only after having security guarantees in place and a ceasefire with Russia.
READ MORE: Kremlin says US-Russia-Ukraine talks to continue next week
On potential negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelensky said Ukraine is open to talks at locations suggested by the US side -- in the United States, in Europe, or in neutral countries, anywhere except Russia and Belarus.
Zelensky added that the US side has not used security guarantees as leverage to pressure Ukraine on a timetable for an election.
Zelensky's comments follow a Financial Times report that Zelensky intended to announce election and referendum plans on Feb 24, the fourth anniversary of the start of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, citing officials involved in the planning. The report also said the Trump administration has pressed Ukraine to hold a referendum by May 15, warning that failure to do so could jeopardize proposed US security guarantees.
