Russia Launches Massive Attacks on Ukraine’s Power Infrastructure

Russia has carried out extensive drone and missile attacks overnight on Ukraine’s power generation and distribution facilities, Kiev has reported.

The country’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, said that in the early hours of Saturday, more than 400 drones and nearly 40 missiles of various types targeted the power grid, generation centers, and distribution substations.

In the four-year-long war, Ukraine’s power infrastructure has been repeatedly damaged by Russian attacks. This time, amid the destruction from the war and severe sub-zero cold, Russia’s extensive assault is collapsing the country’s electricity sector.

In a post on social media platform X, Zelensky accused Russia of prioritizing attacks over diplomacy. He said that Russia is using the cold to subjugate Ukrainians.

Reuters reported that Moscow has not immediately commented on the attacks.

Ukraine’s Energy Minister, German Galushchenko, stated that two thermal power plants in western Ukraine, as well as key substations and main power distribution lines, were hit.

He said on Telegram that Russia has launched another “massive attack” on Ukraine’s power facilities, and that “electricity workers will start repairs as soon as the security situation permits.”

The attack occurred amid intense February cold, with forecasts indicating temperatures could drop below -14°C in the coming days.

Officials said that electricity distribution has been suspended across the country on an emergency basis. Galushchenko added that the government has taken steps to import electricity from Poland to support Ukraine’s grid.

Regional officials said that attacks occurred across the country, including in the western regions of Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Lviv.

The western Ukrainian Burshtyn and Dobrotvir thermal power plants were also targeted.

Ukraine’s largest private power company, DTEK, said that this marks the tenth attack on their thermal power plants since October 2025.

Due to attacks on power facilities across various regions, prolonged electricity outages are expected, warned the governor of Lviv region.

In areas near the Polish border, air-raid sirens rang for more than six hours, he said.

Poland reported that during Russia’s attacks on nearby Ukrainian regions, it temporarily closed two airports in the southeast as a precaution. The airports resumed operations after the attacks ended.

Moscow launched this assault ahead of the next round of Russia-Ukraine talks in the United Arab Emirates, mediated by the United States, aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.