More than 1,000 residential buildings in Kyiv were left without heating as temperatures plunged to nearly minus 20 degrees Celsius.

Russia launched one of its largest combined aerial assaults on Ukraine’s energy network on 3 February 2026, firing more than 70 missiles and about 450 drones across at least five regions, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The barrages targeted power plants, heating systems, substations and residential areas, leaving an estimated 1,170 residential buildings in Kyiv without heating as temperatures plunged to near –20 °C, officials said. At least nine people were wounded in the capital alone, with additional injuries reported in other cities.

The strikes came just before scheduled peace talks in Abu Dhabi involving Ukrainian, Russian and US representatives, drawing condemnation from Kyiv, which called them a deliberate attempt to terrorise civilians and disrupt diplomacy. Ukraine’s Western allies expressed alarm and reiterated support for additional air-defence systems as emergency crews and energy workers battled to restore power and heat.

Winter Offensive Severely Disrupts Civilians

In the early hours of Tuesday, the coordinated Russian assault blasted Ukraine’s energy grid across several fronts, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, Odesa and Dnipro, officials said. Ukraine’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed around 1,170 apartment buildings in the capital alone were without heat after critical infrastructure was knocked offline amid an extreme cold spell. In Kyiv’s Darnytskyi and Dniprovskyi districts, many residents were forced into emergency shelters as repair crews struggled to reconnect utilities.

State emergency services reported damage to residential properties, a kindergarten, a petrol station and cultural sites, including parts of Kyiv’s National Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II, underscoring both human and symbolic losses. Across the country, similar attacks crippled electricity and heat for homes, hospitals and schools, intensifying the humanitarian crisis as temperatures remain well below freezing.

Zelenskyy harshly criticised the timing, saying Russia was choosing “terror and escalation” over diplomacy, and urged Western allies to supply more air-defence systems to protect civilians and critical infrastructure. Ukrainian officials reported that some missiles and drones were intercepted, but the sheer scale of the attack overwhelmed defences at key locations.

A Strategic Push Ahead of Diplomacy

The latest assault marks a renewed phase in Russia’s campaign to target Ukraine’s energy networks an approach that has become especially pronounced during harsh winter months since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. In late January, similar strikes knocked out electricity and heat to large portions of Kyiv and other cities, prompting emergency measures and warnings from energy experts that future attacks could inflict “catastrophic humanitarian consequences.”

Just days earlier, a temporary pause on energy infrastructure attacks reportedly requested by former US President Donald Trump due to the extreme cold had brought a short respite, but Moscow acknowledged this ceasefire would end soon and resumed operations as promised, drawing fresh international criticism. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Russia of exploiting winter hardship, saying the timing of the attacks “ignored both the climate of peace talks and basic human decency.”

The strikes also occurred on the eve of US-brokered peace negotiations in Abu Dhabi, where delegates from Ukraine, Russia and the United States were set to discuss possible pathways toward ending the conflict. Kyiv’s leadership said the renewed bombardment could harden positions, making diplomatic progress even more difficult as core territorial and security issues remain unresolved.

Energy analysts note that Ukraine’s grid has been under sustained strain for months, forcing increased electricity imports and emergency blackouts as fuel reserves dwindle and repair efforts lag behind repeated attacks. Prior strikes in January left thousands of homes without heat, water or electricity, and municipal authorities warned that the compounded damage would take weeks or months to fully repair.

The Logical Indian’s Perspective

The human toll of conflict cannot be measured solely in military gains or losses. Striking energy infrastructure in the deepest freeze of the year knowing it will plunge families into darkness and cold is not just a tactical choice, it is a moral crisis. The images of children, elderly residents and frontline workers huddling in freezing apartments or relying on makeshift heat sources remind the world that war’s greatest victims are often those furthest from the battlefield.

The Logical Indian believes that peaceful resolution must rest on protecting civil life and dignity, not amplifying suffering for strategic advantage. Attacks that deprive whole communities of heat, light and water in sub-zero conditions challenge our shared humanity and make lasting reconciliation more distant. While security concerns are real, so too are the everyday struggles of ordinary people whose lives are upended by conflict.