Russia has carried out its largest missile and drone assault of the year on Ukraine, ending a brief, U.S.-brokered pause in attacks.
The attack came as U.S., Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are expected to hold trilateral peace talks in Abu Dhabi this week, the second round of negotiations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of choosing terrorism over diplomacy, saying 70 missiles and 450 drones targeted energy infrastructure in six regions ahead of the talks.
In Kyiv, waves of ballistic missiles rattled buildings overnight. By sunrise, smoke was visible across the skyline. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said emergency blackouts were being enforced.
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Russia also fired hypersonic missiles from occupied Crimea. The anti-ship weapons, repurposed for land attacks, were designed to penetrate Western naval defenses. Ukraine’s air defense systems were unable to intercept them.
Targets included thermal power plants and heating facilities, critical to survival amid frigid winter temperatures. In Kyiv, more than 1,100 apartment buildings lost heat. In Kharkiv, officials drained heating systems in 820 buildings to prevent pipes from freezing and bursting — damage that could make them uninhabitable.
Late last month, former President Donald Trump personally asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid for one week as a humanitarian gesture due to extreme cold. Putin agreed, and the Kremlin confirmed the pause. However, the truce ended Sunday, and officials believe Russia used the week to stockpile weapons for the attack.