Russia has launched one of its largest assaults yet on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, pounding Kyiv and several regions overnight and into Saturday morning. The strikes triggered widespread explosions across the capital and left 1.2 million properties without electricity as temperatures plunged to 10°C.
Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba reported that over 3,200 buildings in Kyiv remained without heating late Saturday, though the number had dropped from 6,000 earlier in the day. More than 160 emergency repair crews were deployed across the capital, with additional teams working in western and southern regions hit by the attack.
Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said 800,000 households in Kyiv and 400,000 more in Chernihiv region were still without power, warning that relentless Russian strikes were preventing any stabilization of the grid. Many Kyiv residents were already living in freezing apartments due to earlier damage to the city’s centralized heating system.
The assault came as U.S.-brokered trilateral talks between Russia and Ukraine continued in the United Arab Emirates, ending without progress. More negotiations are expected next weekend.
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko confirmed that Russia targeted Kyiv and four northern and eastern regions, adding that Ukraine was working urgently to repair damaged power facilities, boost electricity imports and activate alternative energy sources.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said one person was killed and four injured in the capital, while more than 30 people including a child were wounded in Kharkiv. Klitschko visited the hardest-hit district of Troyeshchyna, where 600 buildings were left without power, water or heat. Authorities are distributing hot meals and medicine, and expanding heated shelters operating around the clock.
To help residents escape freezing homes, Kyiv recently relaxed its wartime curfew so people can reach heated tents and public buildings at night.
Russia has been intensifying its bombardment of Ukraine’s power grid this winter, launching 375 drones and 21 missiles, including two rare Tsirkon ballistic missiles, in the latest attack. The night sky over Kyiv glowed with orange flashes as air defenses intercepted incoming drones and missiles, with loud blasts echoing across the city.
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