Russia carried out a major overnight attack on Ukraine in what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday (February 3, 2026) was a broken commitment to halt striking energy infrastructure as the countries prepared for more talks on ending Moscow’s four-year-old full-scale invasion.
The bombardment included hundreds of drones and a record 32 ballistic missiles, wounding at least 10 people. It specifically took aim at the power grid, Mr. Zelenskyy said, as part of what Ukraine says is Moscow’s ongoing campaign to deny civilians light, heating and running water during the coldest winter in years.
Taking advantage of the coldest days of winter to terrorise people is more important to Russia than diplomacy,” Mr. Zelenskyy said. Temperatures in Kyiv fell to minus 20 degrees Celsius during the night and stood at minus 16 degrees Celsius on Tuesday (February 3, 2026).
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte visited Kyiv in a show of support. He said that the overnight strikes raise doubts about Moscow’s intentions on the eve of talks, calling them “a really bad signal.” He said it was clear that the attacks only strengthen Ukrainians’ resolve.Officials have described recent talks between Moscow and Kyiv delegations as constructive. But after a year of efforts, the Trump administration is still searching for a breakthrough on key issues such as who keeps the Ukrainian land that Russia’s Army has occupied, and a comprehensive settlement appears distant. The talks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, are scheduled for Wednesday (February 4) and Thursday (February 5, 2026).Mr. Zelenskyy said Ukraine is ready to discuss how to end the fighting “but no one is going to surrender.
Dispute over power grid attacks
A Kremlin official said last week that Russia had agreed to halt strikes on Kyiv for a week until February 1 because of the frigid temperatures, following a personal request from U.S. President Donald Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, the bitter cold is continuing and so are Russia’s aerial attacks.
Mr. Zelenskyy, however, accused Russia of breaking its commitment to hold off its attacks on Ukraine’s energy assets, claiming the weeklong pause was due to come into force last Friday.
“We believe this Russian strike clearly violates what the American side discussed, and there must be consequences,” he said.
Mr. Trump claimed Mr. Putin “kept his word” on the temporary pause.
“It was, it’s a lot,” Mr. Trump told reporters. “You know, one week is — we’ll take anything, because it’s really, really cold over there.” He added that he wanted Mr. Putin to extend the pause. “I would have liked him to,” he said. “I want him to end the war.” The bombardment of at least five regions of Ukraine comprised 450 long-range drones and 70 missiles, Ukrainian officials said.
Russian officials provided no immediate response to Mr. Zelenskyy’s comments.
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