Russia has used a record number of ballistic missiles to target Ukraine’s energy sector, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
The combined missile and drone strikes hit power plants and infrastructure in Kyiv and multiple locations causing “the most powerful blow” so far this year, according to private energy company DTEK.
The strikes were launched as temperatures dropped to -20C (-4F) and left more than 1,000 tower blocks in the capital without heating once again and damaged a power plant in the eastern city of Kharkiv beyond repair.
Zelensky said Russia was “choosing terror and escalation” rather than diplomacy to end this war and called for “maximum pressure” on Moscow from Ukraine’s allies.
The attack comes after a so-called “energy truce” agreed by Donald Trump with Vladimir Putin expired at the weekend.
Ukraine’s president suggested that Russia had simply used the time to stock up on missiles and prepare for the next attack.
It also came on the day Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte was in Kyiv to meet President Zelensky and to address the national parliament.
Donald Trump’s initiative was meant to give diplomacy a chance. Negotiators from Russia and Ukraine are due to meet in Abu Dhabi for another round of talks co-ordinated by the US later this week.
It is clear that Russia has other ideas.
And in fact, there is always a gap between Russia’s massive strikes which makes Ukrainians doubt there was ever any real pause at all.
We heard the first explosions in Kyiv soon after midnight and the air raid lasted more than seven hours. There were several subsequent blasts.
Residents spent the night sheltering in metro stations, with some pitching tents on the platforms to protect them from the freezing cold.
President Zelensky has said more than 70 ballistic and cruise missiles were fired – significantly more than usual – together with 450 drones which are used to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defences.
Ukraine’s Air Force said it had intercepted only 38 of the missiles, which means many reached their target.
Officials here have complained repeatedly of a shortage of missiles to protect the skies. Ukraine relies on US-made Patriot missiles, in particular.
“Timely delivery of missiles for air defense systems and the protection of normal life are our priority,” Zelenksy wrote on X this morning. “Without pressure on Russia, there will be no end to this war.”
In response, Nato’s secretary-general said he was urging member countries to “dig deep in their stockpiles” and provide the missiles Ukraine needs.
“I know that more is urgently needed,” he said. “We are working to ensure that more comes quickly.”
Rutte also said Nato was standing by Ukraine as it made tough decisions during peace talks and that the alliance would provide the “hard power” to back up any eventual deal.
But the Nato chief agreed with Zelensky that Russia’s overnight attack did not “signal seriousness about peace”.
Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Moscow of using the coldest days of winter to “terrorise people”.
DTEK has confirmed that two of its own power plants were hit again overnight, including in Odesa, in what it says was the ninth massive attack on the sector since October.
State-run facilities were hit in Kyiv, Dnipro and elsewhere, adding to serious damage caused by a series of previous targeted attacks.
DTEK says some of the plants targeted were providing heating only, not electricity, which means they were exclusively for civilian use. The Geneva Convention makes clear that targeting civilian infrastructure is a potential war crime.
Each time makes it harder to carry out repairs and leaves the system more fragile, and prone to blackouts.
Teams of engineers have been working through the night for weeks to fix things – drafted in from all over the country and hailed as heroes.
But there are not enough workers to keep up with demand.
We have met residents who have had no heating in their homes for days, in some cases weeks. They sleep in hats and coats, and under piles of blankets, but it is still bitterly cold.
Many use soup kitchens to get free hot meals because there are also power cuts here for hours on end.
People believe these attacks are intended to turn them against the authorities in Kyiv, to make their lives so miserable they submit to Russia’s demands – including to hand over land in the eastern Donbas region that Moscow currently does not control.
Instead, there is a lot of anger here at Russia for attempting to freeze civilians in their homes as well as resistance to any form of compromise with Moscow.
