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Ukraine says a wave of overnight Russian drone and missile strikes has hit critical infrastructure, including energy facilities and rail transport systems, leaving thousands of households without heating and water.
The attacks come as Ukrainian officials are holding a third day of talks with US representatives in Florida over a Washington-backed proposal to bring the nearly four-year war to an end.
According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia fired 653 drones and 51 missiles during the assault.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said energy installations were once again the primary targets, accusing Moscow of trying to cause widespread civilian suffering by crippling essential services.
He added that the scale of the assault showed a deliberate attempt to inflict hardship on millions of people across the country.
Zelenskyy also reported that a drone strike destroyed the main railway station in Fastiv, a city located around 70 kilometres south-west of Kyiv.
While no fatalities were reported, Ukraine’s state railway operator confirmed that suburban services had been disrupted as a result of the damage.
Officials said energy infrastructure was also hit in the regions of Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, and Dnipropetrovsk.
In the Odesa region alone, authorities said around 9,500 homes were left without heating, while 34,000 people were cut off from water supplies after facilities were damaged in the strikes.
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said ministers had held an emergency meeting to address the crisis, warning that temporary power cuts would be introduced nationwide while repairs were carried out to stabilise the system.
Despite ongoing diplomatic efforts led by the United States to halt the conflict, Russia has continued to bombard Ukraine’s electricity and heating networks since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, leaving much of the country’s civilian infrastructure severely damaged.
