Kyiv, Ukraine. Russia struck Ukrainian energy facilities with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles on Tuesday, cutting electricity and heating to large areas in freezing temperatures, Ukrainian officials said.
Overnight strikes across multiple regions
Ukrainian officials said Kyiv and Kharkiv came under fire in overnight airstrikes that Ukraine’s energy minister said were spread across eight regions and followed a brief moratorium on attacks on energy facilities.
Ukraine said Russia launched 450 drones and more than 70 missiles, wounding at least nine people in attacks that struck apartment blocks as well as energy infrastructure. Officials said electricity and heating was knocked out in many areas as temperatures were around or below -20 Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit).
Zelenskiy comments ahead of scheduled talks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram that “Taking advantage of the coldest days of winter to terrorise people is more important to Russia than resorting to diplomacy,” accusing Moscow of choosing “terror and escalation.”
His comments came ahead of talks involving Russian, Ukrainian and U.S. officials scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday in Abu Dhabi, as Washington tries to broker an end to the war that began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Peace talks and disputes over territory
The first round of trilateral talks in late January produced no movement on the question of territory, with Moscow demanding Kyiv cede more land in eastern Ukraine, which Ukraine refuses to do.
Zelenskiy has said Ukraine was ready for “substantive” talks as it seeks to stop Russian advances on the battlefield. Moscow and Kyiv have blamed each other for the failure to agree a peace deal.
Moratorium dispute and renewed attacks
Russia and Ukraine said last week they had halted strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure, but they disagreed on the timeframe for the moratorium, and Ukrainian officials reported widespread attacks on energy facilities overnight.
Among the infrastructure hit, officials said, were facilities used to heat water for distribution to Ukrainian homes.
How do you think the renewed strikes on energy infrastructure will affect the upcoming Abu Dhabi talks?
