Russian forces intensified their attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure ahead of a new round of peace talks, killing three energy sector workers and leaving tens of thousands of residents without electricity or heating, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the overnight strikes, which targeted 12 regions and came just hours before the start of U.S.-backed trilateral talks between Kyiv and Moscow in Geneva.
Writing on the platform X, Zelenskyy said the attack “was complex and deliberately designed to inflict the maximum possible damage on the energy sector,” calling for diplomacy to be supported by “justice and strength.”
Since the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow has stepped up strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities, particularly during the winter months, causing repeated power and heating outages.
Ukraine’s Deputy Energy Minister said the three workers were killed when a Russian drone targeted their vehicle near the Sloviansk power plant in an area close to the front line — a region Moscow is demanding Kyiv concede as part of any peace agreement.
Energy infrastructure supplying the strategic Black Sea port city of Odesa also sustained “severe and critical” damage, according to the private energy company DTEK, which indicated that repairs would take considerable time before equipment could be brought back into service.
Deputy Energy Minister Artem Nekrasov stated that five regions experienced power outages as a result of the strikes, in addition to heating disruptions in Odesa and in the northern city of Sumy near the Russian border.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia launched around 400 drones and 29 missiles, most of which were intercepted, while 13 struck targets inside Ukrainian territory.
