On eve of peace talks, Russia hits power plants in frigid Ukraine

By MARIA VARENIKOVA

A day before scheduled peace talks with Ukraine, Russia resumed attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure Tuesday, striking power plants with missiles in several regions as temperatures plunged to minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit in the capital, Kyiv.

The attacks ended an informal, short-lived “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine that officials had called a confidence-building gesture for peace negotiations. The talks have entered a new phase as Russian and Ukrainian officials have begun meeting face to face for the first time in months.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump said he had asked President Vladimir Putin of Russia to halt attacks for a week. Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, confirmed the pause but said it would last only until Sunday.

The revived strikes on Ukraine’s energy system are part of a major campaign this winter intended to freeze Ukrainians into submission. Russia hit power plants in at least six regions Tuesday, including Kyiv, officials said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine said the attacks revealed Russia’s true intentions, with peace negotiations set to continue Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates.

“Taking advantage of the coldest days of winter to terrorize people is more important to Russia than turning to diplomacy,” Zelenskyy said on social media. He added that Russia had used 70 missiles and 450 drones in the overnight attacks. It was the largest bombardment of Russian missiles in more than a year.

Ukraine’s energy minister, Denys Shmyhal, said the attacks amounted to “another Russian crime against humanity.”

“The targets were not military,” he said on social media. “They were purely civilian: Hundreds of thousands of families, including children, were deliberately left without heat during the harshest winter frosts.”

In Kyiv, authorities reported that two districts were without heating and electricity. Officials also announced emergency power cuts in other parts of the city. At least three people were reported wounded in the attacks.

In the eastern city of Kharkiv, authorities said that all of the city’s 101 tents providing warmth and power for charging devices had opened. Water will most likely need to be drained from pipes after strikes on a power plant, leaving at least 820 apartment buildings without heating, they added.

Zelenskyy earlier announced that a Ukrainian delegation had departed for Abu Dhabi. The talks there are set to include representatives from Russia, Ukraine and the United States.

In addition to three-way negotiations, bilateral discussions between Ukraine and the United States will be held, Zelenskyy said.

The talks will address security guarantees and the future reconstruction of Ukraine, he said. Zelenskyy has said that negotiations over European and U.S. measures to ensure Ukraine’s postwar security are virtually complete, but Russia has said it would not accept some of the terms under consideration.

The attacks Tuesday lasted throughout the night. Late in the morning, air raid sirens sounded again in Kyiv, warning of a ballistic missile heading toward the city. At the time, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was in the city for an official visit.