Russian troops attacked Zaporizhzhia late on Thursday evening, Jan. 29, hitting an industrial infrastructure facility and a residential high-rise building.
Ivan Fedorov, head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration (OVA), wrote on Telegram that at around 10 p.m. there was a threat of guided bomb strikes in the region, while drones were regularly spotted over the regional center.
Within 20 minutes, authorities confirmed a strike on an unspecified industrial facility, which sparked a fire. About an hour later, Fedorov said a residential building had also been hit.
He also published a frame from a video camera capturing the moment of one strike.
In his morning update, Fedorov specified that a drone hit the ground in a residential area near high-rise buildings.
“The blast wave damaged five high-rise buildings and two private houses – windows were shattered and balconies destroyed,” he wrote.
Rescuers, police, and municipal services began response work immediately, which was still ongoing, he added. Two women were injured but refused hospitalization.
According to the Air Force, from 6 p.m. on Jan. 29 Russia launched one Iskander-M ballistic missile and 111 Shahed, Gerbera, Italmas and other types of UAVs, around 70 of them Shaheds.
Ukrainian aviation, air defense missile units, electronic warfare units, unmanned systems, and mobile fire groups repelled the attack. As of 8 a.m., 80 UAVs had been shot down or suppressed.
A ballistic missile and 25 strike UAVs were recorded hitting 15 locations, while debris from downed drones fell at two sites.
As of this morning, there were no reports of damage to energy infrastructure in Ukraine or Russia, suggesting the energy truce is holding for now, even as Russia continues large-scale drone attacks and strikes on civilian infrastructure.
Ukraine has faced weeks of freezing temperatures and heavy bombardment of its energy sector, with Kyiv particularly affected by blackouts.
US President Donald Trump appeared to confirm rumors that Moscow has temporarily halted attacks on Kyiv and Ukrainian energy infrastructure, speaking at a White House cabinet meeting on Thursday.
He said he personally asked Russian President Vladimir Putin not to strike Kyiv and other towns for a week, and that Putin agreed.
Early indications of a possible pause came from pro-Kremlin war blogger Vladimir Romanov, who claimed Russia suspended strikes on Kyiv and energy facilities nationwide from Jan. 28 until further notice.
Ukrainian war bloggers later reported a parallel Ukrainian order not to target Russian energy infrastructure.
Moscow has not officially commented while President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the US for efforts to halt attacks on the energy sector, saying the real situation on the ground would show whether the pause holds.
Germany welcomed efforts toward a truce but said Russia’s destruction of civilian infrastructure was still ongoing.
William Taylor, former US ambassador to Ukraine, cautiously welcomed reports of a possible pause in Russian strikes but voiced strong doubts about Moscow’s sincerity.
He told Kyiv Post that halting attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy facilities would be a positive first step, but stressed there is no sign Russia is serious or has actually stopped.
With temperatures forecast to drop to -22 degrees Fahrenheit (-30°C) in the coming days, Taylor added that a real pause on energy strikes could be a lifeline for Ukrainians if it goes beyond words.
European diplomats described current trilateral contacts as the most serious engagement since the full-scale invasion, with further US-Russia-Ukraine talks expected within a week.