Russia launched a major overnight drone-and-missile strike on Ukraine’s power grid, hitting multiple regions as freezing temperatures continued in Kyiv and surrounding areas, according to Ukrainian officials. The attack, described by Ukrainian authorities as the second large bombardment in four days, included hundreds of drones and a mix of ballistic and cruise missiles, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Zelensky said the strike killed four people in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region and left several hundred thousand households without power in the Kyiv region. The latest assault came as Ukraine’s capital faced prolonged freezing weather and residents relied on generators and limited services while crews worked to restore heat and electricity, city officials said.
Heavy barrage targets multiple regions
Zelensky said Russia fired almost 300 drones, 18 ballistic missiles, and seven cruise missiles at eight regions overnight. He said one strike in the Kharkiv region hit a mail depot, killing four people, and local authorities said 10 others were wounded.
In the southern city of Odesa, six people were wounded, according to Oleh Kiper, the head of the regional military administration. Kiper said the strikes damaged energy infrastructure as well as a hospital, a kindergarten, an educational facility, and several residential buildings.
Kyiv endures outages in deep freeze
Kyiv has faced freezing temperatures for more than two weeks, and the daytime temperature in the city was around 10 degrees Fahrenheit as the attack’s impact spread, according to officials. Zelensky said several hundred thousand households in the Kyiv region were without power after the strikes.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the latest strikes caused the biggest electrical outage the city has faced so far. Klitschko said more than 500 residential buildings remained without central heating, as repair crews worked to restore critical infrastructure across the capital.
Residents tried to cope by gathering in apartments that still had power or hot water to charge phones, take hot showers, or share warm drinks, according to the report. Streets were covered in ice, trees carried icicles, and the sound of generators could be heard across the city.
Klitschko ordered the city to provide one hot meal per day to needy residents and announced bonuses for workers in water, heating, and road maintenance services for round-the-clock work to restore essential systems.
U.S. criticism at the United Nations
The report said the United States accused Russia of a “dangerous and inexplicable escalation” at a time when the Trump administration is trying to advance peace negotiations. Tammy Bruce, the U.S. deputy ambassador to the United Nations, told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that Washington deplores the “staggering number of casualties” and condemns Russia’s intensifying attacks on energy and other infrastructure.
Ukrainian officials have described Russia’s winter pressure strategy as “weaponizing winter,” saying Moscow has sought to deny civilians heat and running water during the war. The report described the renewed focus on the power grid as coming during freezing weather conditions that have intensified the humanitarian impact in cities such as Kyiv.
Civilian toll and air defense needs
The U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in the country said last year was the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since 2022 as Russia intensified aerial barrages behind the front line. The mission said the war killed 2,514 civilians and injured 12,142, which it said was 31% higher than in 2024.
Danielle Bell, the agency’s head, said in a statement that the increase in long-range attacks and the targeting of national energy infrastructure means the war’s consequences are felt far beyond the front line. Zelensky said Ukraine is counting on quicker deliveries of agreed air defense systems from the United States and Europe, along with new pledges of aid, to counter Russia’s latest onslaught.
The report noted that Russia’s full-scale invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022, and that the invasion was approaching the four-year mark. It also said Russia launched a similar large-scale attack four days earlier and used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine, described as only the second time such a missile had been used in the war.
Drone exchanges extend beyond Ukraine
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Russian air defenses shot down 11 Ukrainian drones overnight. The ministry said seven of those drones were destroyed over Russia’s Rostov region, where Governor Yuri Slyusar confirmed an attack on the coastal city of Taganrog, about 24 miles east of the Ukrainian border.
Ukraine’s military said its drones hit a drone manufacturing facility in Taganrog. Ukraine’s General Staff said the Atlant Aero plant designs, manufactures, and tests Molniya drones and components for Orion unmanned aerial vehicles, and it reported explosions, a fire, and confirmed damage to production buildings.
The report said it was not possible to independently verify those claims.
