Russian Missiles and Drones Strike Ukrainian Energy Grid

KYIV — Russian drone and ballistic missile attacks overnight targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure across 12 regions, causing widespread blackouts and disrupting water supplies, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Nine people, including one child, were reported injured in the strikes. Kyiv sustained the heaviest damage, with residential buildings, the North Bridge and a kindergarten hit, Zelensky said. Substations connecting the Rivne and Khmelnytsky nuclear power plants to Kyiv and central Ukraine were also struck, along with facilities in the Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Kharkiv and Dnipro regions.

Zelensky said Moscow carried out the strikes as preparation for trilateral talks scheduled in Abu Dhabi next week with Ukrainian and Russian delegations.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the city's water supply system had resumed normal operations and approximately 60 percent of apartment buildings had been reconnected to heating. Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal reported power cuts in five regions.

Temperatures are falling across Ukraine, with parts of the country already experiencing winter snow, intensifying the effect of energy disruptions on civilians.

The attacks follow a White House meeting Thursday where U.S. First Lady Melania Trump met with Russian and Ukrainian delegations. Trump called for a more enduring ceasefire, building on a six-day truce implemented last week that allowed hundreds of residents to evacuate from Oleshky, a Russian-occupied Ukrainian town facing bombardment and supply shortages.

In a statement, Trump said, "The lives of innocent people must transcend the division of war. I hope Oleshky inspires greater peace." Both Moscow and Kyiv credited her with brokering the temporary ceasefire.

Earlier this week, glide bombs struck an aid center near Zaporizhzhia, with the death toll reaching 55 as rescue teams searched through the ruins.

Zelensky called on the United States for "unity between both parties on issues of security, support for Ukraine, condemnation of Russian aggression, and increased sanctions pressure on Putin."

Zelensky said Moscow carried out the strikes as preparation for trilateral talks scheduled in Abu Dhabi next week with Ukrainian and Russian delegations.

Temperatures are falling across Ukraine, with parts of the country already experiencing winter snow, intensifying the effect of energy disruptions on civilians.

Earlier this week, glide bombs struck an aid center near Zaporizhzhia, with the death toll reaching 55 as rescue teams searched through the ruins.

Zelensky called on the United States for "unity between both parties on issues of security, support for Ukraine, condemnation of Russian aggression, and increased sanctions pressure on Putin."