Russia strikes Ukraine’s energy system in subzero cold, leaving thousands without heat
Russian forces carried out a combined overnight attack on Ukraine on February 2–3, launching drones and missiles across several regions. Kyiv was among the targets, according to statements from the head of the city’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, and the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko.
Tkachenko said high-rise apartment buildings were damaged in Kyiv’s Darnytskyi, Dniprovskyi, and Shevchenkivskyi districts. Nonresidential buildings were also hit, along with a gas station and several vehicles. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported that three people were injured in the capital.
Farther east, Russia targeted Kharkiv’s energy infrastructure, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. “The goal is obvious: to inflict maximum damage and leave the city without heat in extreme cold,” he wrote on Telegram.
Following the strike, city officials were forced to drain water from the heating systems of 820 apartment buildings connected to one of Kharkiv’s largest combined heat and power plants. Terekhov acknowledged how difficult the decision was with temperatures around -20°C (-4°F), but said there was no alternative after what he described as an unprecedented strike on critical infrastructure.
“All 101 of the city’s ‘Points of Invincibility’ will operate around the clock,” he said, referring to emergency shelters where residents can warm up, get hot drinks, and charge their phones. Additional heating points will be set up if needed.
Two people were injured in Kharkiv — men aged 27 and 58 — according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov.
Later on Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote that Russia had carried out “a record strike in terms of the use of ballistic missiles,” adding that such weapons can be intercepted only by Patriot air defense systems. He stressed the need for rapid deliveries of interceptor missiles, saying he had discussed the issue with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who is currently in Kyiv.
Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russian forces launched more than 500 missiles and drones overnight. As of midmorning, air defenses had shot down or disabled 38 missiles and 412 drones.
A day earlier, on February 2, Ukraine’s Energy Ministry reported that Russian forces had resumed strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure, leaving consumers without power in the Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, and Cherkasy regions. Shortly afterward, however, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that there had been no “targeted strikes” on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure over the previous 24 hours.
The Kremlin, for its part, declined to comment on the status of a supposed energy ceasefire that had been reported to be in effect through February 1. “I have nothing to add to what I said during the previous conference call, where we were specifically talking about February 1,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
