Russia has launched a large overnight barrage of drones and missiles on Ukraine, knocking out power, heat and water for tens of thousands of people in several major cities. Officials said the latest wave is part of an intensified winter campaign targeting the country’s energy infrastructure.
In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said around 3,500 apartment buildings were left without heating after critical facilities were hit. More than 100,000 families also lost electricity, with private energy firm DTEK confirming that one of its thermal power plants was struck. Two people were injured in the capital and a residential building was damaged.
Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia fired 24 ballistic missiles, one cruise missile and 219 drones during the attack. Air defences shot down or neutralised 16 missiles and 197 drones, but several still reached their targets, causing widespread outages.
The southern port city of Odesa was also badly affected. Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said nearly 300,000 people were left without water and around 200 buildings lost heating after power supplies were disrupted.
In Dnipro, regional governor Oleksandr Ganzha said a combined missile and drone strike wounded four people, including a baby boy and a four year old girl. In the Kharkiv region, prosecutors reported that two people were killed and six injured in an attack on the railway hub of Lozova.
Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians, even though its strikes have killed thousands since the full scale invasion began in February 2022. Ukrainian forces have also hit civilian areas in Russia and occupied territories, but on a much smaller scale.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the latest attacks as a direct blow to peace efforts led by US President Donald Trump to end the four year war. He said continued bombardment shows Moscow is not serious about diplomacy and must be pressured to de escalate.
Sybiha noted that US backed trilateral talks between Ukraine and Russia have yet to bridge major differences while Russian forces keep up offensive operations. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has urged Washington to increase pressure on Moscow if it wants a realistic chance of ending the war by summer.
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