Russian forces launched a major wave of attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure overnight, killing three energy workers and leaving tens of thousands of people without electricity and heating, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.
The strikes hit 12 regions across Ukraine, just hours before the scheduled start of U.S.-backed trilateral peace talks involving Kyiv and Moscow in Geneva.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy strongly condemned the attacks, describing them as a deliberate effort to cripple the country’s power system.
“It was a combined strike, specially calculated to cause as much damage as possible to our energy sector,” Zelenskiy wrote on X, adding that diplomacy must be backed by “justice and strength.”
Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian power and heating facilities this winter, causing widespread blackouts and disruptions during freezing temperatures.
Ukraine’s deputy energy minister said the three workers were killed after a Russian drone struck their car near the Sloviansk power plant, a frontline area in eastern Ukraine. Moscow has demanded Kyiv cede parts of the region as part of any peace agreement.
Meanwhile, power infrastructure supplying the strategic Black Sea port city of Odesa suffered what Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, called “incredibly serious” damage.
“Repairs will take a long time to restore the equipment to working order,” DTEK said in a statement posted on social media.
Deputy Energy Minister Artem Nekrasov reported that homes in five regions suffered electricity cuts due to the strikes. He also confirmed disruptions to heating supplies in both Odesa and Sumy, a regional capital in northern Ukraine near the Russian border.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched nearly 400 drones and 29 missiles during the overnight assault. While most were intercepted, officials said 13 targets were still hit across the country.