Russia mounts massive overnight drone and missile barrage on Ukraine

A massive overnight barrage of missiles and drones struck across Ukraine, officials said, heavily damaging energy infrastructure and plunging large swaths of the country into darkness and freezing temperatures. Authorities called it among the largest combined missile-and-drone attacks of 2026 and said the strikes deliberately targeted thermal power plants, substations and other elements of the grid.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram that the attack hit “Sumy, Kharkiv, Kyiv and the capital region, as well as the Dnipro, Odesa and Vinnytsia regions.” He added that Russians used “a significant amount of ballistic missiles in combination with other missiles – more than 70 missiles and 450 strike drones.” Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, put the toll in similar terms, saying the assault involved “450 drones and more than 60 missiles overnight.”

Local authorities reported extensive damage and civilian harm in several cities. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 1,170 residential buildings in the capital had been left without heat and medical teams treated people at the scene; city officials described damage to apartment blocks and public buildings, including a kindergarten. Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said the capital was “targeted in the bitter cold with another massive strike” and urged residents to remain in shelters.

Odesa regional authorities reported one of the most damaging local episodes, saying a wave of drones set fires and struck civilian neighbourhoods and a monastery. The regional governor said three people were killed and more than 30 wounded in that assault, including a woman late in pregnancy and two children. Separately, regional officials said a passenger train had been struck in recent days, killing five people.

Casualty figures differ across agencies. Emergency services later clarified that at least 12 people were injured nationwide, while other official tallies cited single-digit or low double-digit injury totals in the immediate aftermath. One foreign diplomat visiting Kyiv described the strikes as “a really bad signal” ahead of planned talks.

Ukraine’s air force issued a statement saying defenders had downed “144 targets – 102 missiles and 42 drones,” a claim echoed by military spokesmen. Independent confirmation of the exact weapon types and launch platforms remains pending; Ukrainian officials warned that details would be updated as assessments continue.

The strikes came during a deep cold snap that compounded humanitarian urgency. Temperatures in the capital fell into the minus teens Celsius range overnight, and officials warned that prolonged outages could threaten vulnerable residents unless generators and emergency heating were secured. City administrations activated emergency shelters and called for international assistance to restore power and support displaced families.

Moscow has acknowledged conducting strikes, according to Ukrainian officials, but the precise Russian statement and targeting rationale were not publicly detailed by Kyiv as of this report. Ukrainian leaders framed the operation as part of a campaign to deprive civilians of heat, water and electricity at the coldest moment of the year; Zelenskyy said, “Taking advantage of the coldest days of winter to terrorize people is more important to Russia than diplomacy.”

International and Ukrainian investigators will need to verify aircraft and missile types, the full scope of damage to thermal plants and substations, and final civilian casualty totals. For now, authorities continue search and rescue operations, damage assessments, and emergency repairs across multiple regions.