Russia pounded Ukraine’s energy system overnight into Saturday, leaving parts of Kyiv without electricity, running water or heating just days before negotiators are due to sit down in Abu Dhabi. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow fired 36 ballistic missiles and 172 drones at a dozen regions, with the capital taking the heaviest blows.
Apartment blocks and a kindergarten were damaged in the city, and the Northern Bridge across the Dnipro was shut so crews could repair its road surface and overhead cables. Beyond the city limits, missiles and drones struck the substations that carry power from the Rivne and Khmelnytskyi nuclear stations toward Kyiv and the centre of the country. Several people were injured, among them a child.
Later on Saturday, Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that water was flowing normally again and roughly 60% of apartment buildings were back on the heating network. Blackouts were reported across five regions in total. The timing is grim: temperatures are falling and some areas have already seen their first snow.
Zelensky accused the Kremlin of getting ready for the trilateral meeting by aiming “ballistic missiles at Ukraine’s critical infrastructure”. The talks in the Emirati capital, bringing together Moscow, Kyiv and Washington, are pencilled in for Tuesday and Wednesday. Kyiv is also pressing allies for faster Patriot interceptor deliveries; Zelensky has warned that an approved $2.1bn US package could take years to arrive.
Moscow’s defence ministry said it had targeted energy and transport facilities. In the south, rescuers raised the death toll from the strike on an aid distribution point in Komyshuvakha to 55.
