Russia launched a massive overnight aerial assault on Ukraine, firing about 450 long-range drones and 70 missiles, including a record 32 ballistic missiles, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The attack, described as the heaviest strike on Ukraine’s electricity network this year, targeted at least five regions and focused on crippling the power grid during one of the coldest winters in years, with temperatures in Kyiv plunging to minus 20°C. Ukrainian officials said at least 10 people were wounded. The barrage coincided with a visit to Kyiv by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and came just ahead of US-brokered Russia-Ukraine talks scheduled in Abu Dhabi. Zelenskyy accused Moscow of prioritizing civilian terror over diplomacy, saying the attacks were aimed at depriving Ukrainians of heat, light and water. He urged allies to step up air defence supplies and apply maximum pressure on Russia to end the war, which began in February 2022. Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said the assault was the ninth major attack on its thermal power plants since October. In Kyiv, strikes damaged residential buildings, a kindergarten and a gas station, leaving more than 1,170 apartment buildings without heating and reversing recent repair gains. Russia also hit the Kharkiv and Odesa regions, and damaged the Hall of Fame at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War. Rutte told Ukraine’s parliament that NATO remains committed to long-term support, noting that alliance members have supplied 75% of missiles sent to the front and 90% of those used for air defence. European countries, he said, view Ukraine’s security as vital to their own. Despite recent talks being described as constructive, a comprehensive peace deal remains distant. A temporary pause in strikes reportedly agreed after a request from US President Donald Trump has not halted Russia’s attacks, as Moscow continues efforts to weaken civilian morale by targeting critical infrastructure. Russia launches biggest missile battack on Ukraine
Russia launched a massive overnight aerial assault on Ukraine, firing about 450 long-range drones and 70 missiles, including a record 32 ballistic missiles, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The attack, described as the heaviest strike on Ukraine’s electricity network this year, targeted at least five regions and focused on crippling the power grid during one of the coldest winters in years, with temperatures in Kyiv plunging to minus 20°C. Ukrainian officials said at least 10 people were wounded. The barrage coincided with a visit to Kyiv by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and came just ahead of US-brokered Russia-Ukraine talks scheduled in Abu Dhabi. Zelenskyy accused Moscow of prioritizing civilian terror over diplomacy, saying the attacks were aimed at depriving Ukrainians of heat, light and water. He urged allies to step up air defence supplies and apply maximum pressure on Russia to end the war, which began in February 2022. Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said the assault was the ninth major attack on its thermal power plants since October. In Kyiv, strikes damaged residential buildings, a kindergarten and a gas station, leaving more than 1,170 apartment buildings without heating and reversing recent repair gains. Russia also hit the Kharkiv and Odesa regions, and damaged the Hall of Fame at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War. Rutte told Ukraine’s parliament that NATO remains committed to long-term support, noting that alliance members have supplied 75% of missiles sent to the front and 90% of those used for air defence. European countries, he said, view Ukraine’s security as vital to their own. Despite recent talks being described as constructive, a comprehensive peace deal remains distant. A temporary pause in strikes reportedly agreed after a request from US President Donald Trump has not halted Russia’s attacks, as Moscow continues efforts to weaken civilian morale by targeting critical infrastructure. 