KYIV: Russia launched the “most powerful” attack this year on Ukraine’s battered energy facilities overnight, Kyiv said on Tuesday (Feb 3), leaving hundreds of thousands without heating in frigid temperatures ahead of talks to end the four-year war.
Russia’s strikes hit as temperatures dropped to their lowest since the start of the war in February 2022, killing two teenagers in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia and damaging a Soviet-era World War II monument.
The attack came a day before Ukrainian and Russian negotiators were due to meet for a second round of US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi.
“Taking advantage of the coldest days of winter to terrorise people is more important to Russia than turning to diplomacy,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, denouncing the attack.
He said Russia had “once again disregarded the efforts of the American side”.
US President Donald Trump urged Vladimir Putin to “end the war”, adding that he “would like” his Russian counterpart to extend a brief halt in attacks due to the frigid temperatures.
NATO chief Mark Rutte, who visited Kyiv on Tuesday, said “Russian attacks like those last night, do not signal seriousness about peace”.
An air alert blared out across Kyiv during Rutte’s visit.
AFP journalists heard explosions across the capital overnight, and residents in hundreds of buildings woke to find their heating cut off as temperatures dipped towards minus 20°C.
More than 1,100 residential buildings remained without heat as of late Tuesday, Restoration Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said.
Some residents gathered around a damaged building, stepping over creaking debris and a thick layer of ice coating the ground.
“Our windows are broken and we have no heating,” Anastasia Grytsenko told AFP. “We don’t know what to do.”
Russia’s defence ministry confirmed it had launched “a massive strike” against “Ukrainian military-industrial complex enterprises and energy facilities”.
The Kremlin had last week said it agreed to a US request not to strike Kyiv for seven days, ending Sunday.
Ukraine had not reported large-scale Russian attacks on the capital last week, while denouncing continued attacks in other parts of the country.
“Several types of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones, were used to strike high-rise buildings and thermal power plants,” Energy Minister Denys Shmygal said.
“Hundreds of thousands of families, including children, were deliberately left without heat in the harshest winter frosts,” he added.