Russia strikes power infrastructure across Ukraine, escalating air war amid stalled peace efforts

Russia carried out one of its largest aerial attacks of the war on Ukraine late Monday night into Tuesday, firing more than 650 drones and around three dozen missiles in a barrage that stretched from the night into daylight hours. At least three civilians were killed, including a four-year-old child, and several others were injured, Ukrainian officials said.

The strikes hit all sides of Ukraine, targeting northern, western, southern and central regions and affecting at least 13 oblasts. Homes and critical infrastructure, including power generation facilities, rail links, ports and residential areas, were damaged in the nationwide assault. Large parts of the country were left without electricity, with an estimated 25 to 30 percent of Ukraine affected by full or partial power outages following strikes on energy infrastructure, as freezing winter temperatures deepened the humanitarian impact.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the scale and timing of the attack showed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intention to continue the war despite ongoing diplomatic efforts. Writing on Telegram, Zelenskyy said the bombardment was a clear signal of Moscow’s priorities, noting that it came just days before Christmas, when families hoped to be together in safety, and during negotiations aimed at ending the conflict. “Putin cannot accept the fact that we must stop killing,” he said.

At the same time, Moscow has repeatedly said it is open to a negotiated settlement and has argued that military pressure is necessary to push Ukraine toward talks on terms it considers acceptable. Ukrainian and European officials dispute this claim, pointing to the scale of the attack as evidence that Russia is not engaging sincerely in peace efforts.

Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted the majority of the incoming drones and missiles, but falling debris and successful strikes caused explosions in cities hundreds of kilometres from the front line. Air raid sirens sounded across much of the country, while neighbouring states activated heightened air patrols near Ukrainian airspace in response to the scale of the assault.

Emergency services said the four-year-old child was killed in the northwestern Zhytomyr region after a residential area was hit. A woman died following a drone strike in the Kyiv region, while another civilian was killed in the western Khmelnytskyi region. Additional injuries were reported in several regions as rescue teams worked through the night.

Severe damage was reported to energy infrastructure in the western regions of Rivne, Ternopil and Lviv , as well as in the northern Sumy region, leading to prolonged outages. Ukraine’s largest private energy producer said thermal power plants were among the targets, forcing emergency shutdowns and complicating efforts to restore electricity.

In southern Ukraine, the Odessa region was heavily hit. Regional head Oleh Kiper said Russian strikes damaged energy, port, transport, industrial and residential infrastructure. A merchant ship was struck, and more than 120 homes were damaged, disrupting logistics in the strategic Black Sea region.

The attack came amid continued US-led efforts to broker a peace agreement . US President Donald Trump said negotiations aimed at ending the war “are going along,” while acknowledging the difficulty of reaching a deal. US envoy Steve Witkoff said he held “productive and constructive” discussions with Ukrainian and European representatives. Ukrainian and European officials, however, continue to accuse Russia of not engaging sincerely in the peace process, citing the timing and scale of the attack.