Russian forces launched a massive overnight attack on Ukraine using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones, striking Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, and several other cities.
The strike came on the eve of talks and ahead of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s visit to Ukraine’s capital, during the coldest days of winter.
In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two people were injured and received medical assistance on the spot.
Later, the National Police clarified that five people were injured in Kyiv as a result of the attack.
“From a damaged residential building in the Dniprovskyi district, medics hospitalized a man and a woman with shrapnel wounds,” the police said.
A non-residential building was hit in the Darnytskyi district, while falling debris sparked a fire on the roof of a 26-story residential building at another location. The blaze destroyed partitions and glazing in an uninhabited top-floor apartment and was later extinguished.
Fires also broke out at warehouse facilities, which have since been put out.
In the Dniprovskyi district, UAV debris damaged several residential buildings, destroying part of an exterior wall and windows of a five-story building and damaging the facade and glazing of another. Drone wreckage also fell onto the grounds of a kindergarten and nearby open areas.
In the Pecherskyi district, drone debris fell on the territory of a gas station, damaging the building, four cars, and power lines.
In the Shevchenkivskyi district, a drone struck a 22-story residential building at the level of the 16th-17th floors. Rescuers extinguished a fire covering about 90 square meters.
Klitschko added that Darnytskyi and Dniprovskyi districts are largely without heating due to damage to the capital’s infrastructure. A total of 1,170 high-rise buildings are currently without heat.
Utility and energy workers have begun restoration work, including in buildings that lacked heating before the attack.
Klitschko reported that as of 1:20 p.m., more than 1,100 homes in the Darnytskyi and Dniprovskyi districts remain without heat.
“The infrastructure facility supplying heat to these homes was severely damaged overnight. Specialists are currently assessing the extent of the damage and the prospects for restoration,” Klitschko said.
To prevent the heating systems from freezing, water was drained from the pipes in all affected buildings earlier on Tuesday.
The city has begun deploying additional heating support points in schools located in neighborhoods left without heat.
Mobile boiler-connected shelters, where residents can stay day and night, have also been set up. Currently, five such points are operating in Darnytskyi district and four in Dniprovskyi.
In addition, the State Emergency Service (DSNS) has deployed 36 heating points in Darnytskyi district across 20 locations and 27 points in Dniprovskyi district, also at 20 locations.
In Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov in a Telegram report at 3:39 a.m. said shelling had continued for more than three hours, with Russian forces targeting energy infrastructure.
He wrote that authorities may be forced to drain coolant from the heating systems of 820 apartment buildings supplied by one of the city’s largest CHP plants to prevent the network from freezing.
“Our experts see no other way out,” Terekhov said, adding that disruptions to electric transport are also possible and that additional bus routes will be launched to keep the city running.
The head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration (OVA), Oleh Syniehubov, reported that two people were injured in Kharkiv as a result of shelling. A 27-year-old and a 58-year-old man are currently receiving medical assistance.
He also said that two people were injured in a Russian drone strike on the city of Derhachi in the Kharkiv region. A 79-year-old woman suffered an acute stress reaction, while a 22-year-old man was hospitalized.
Russia also launched a massive attack on the Dnipropetrovsk region using drones and missiles. In Dnipro city, a fire broke out, and an infrastructure facility was damaged. Two private homes, a three-story residential building, and a dormitory also sustained damage.
In Sumy, Mayor Artem Kobzar said shelling hit apartment buildings in the Zarichny district. One strike damaged heating infrastructure on the seventh floor of a building and shattered up to 10 windows, while another hit on the fourth floor caused a fire, damaging a balcony and windows. No casualties were reported.
Konotop, also in the Sumy region, came under fire as well. Local authorities said one private house was destroyed, while a school and infrastructure facilities were damaged.
Over 50,000 residents in the Odesa region were left without electricity following a massive Russian attack, the OVA reported. Residential buildings, warehouses, administrative facilities and cars were damaged. No casualties were reported.
The Vinnytsia region also came under a large-scale attack. Critical infrastructure facilities were hit, leaving 50 settlements without electricity. As of now, there have been no reports of casualties, the OVA added.
Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal reported that eight regions of Ukraine came under Russian attack.
“Another Russian crime against humanity – an attempt at winter genocide by Russian inhumans,” he wrote.
According to Shmyhal, Russia used several types of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones, striking high-rise residential buildings and thermal power facilities.
The attacks targeted combined heat and power plants (CHPs) and thermal power plants (TPPs) operating exclusively in heating mode for districts in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro.
“The targets are not military – they are exclusively civilian. Hundreds of thousands of families, including children, were deliberately left without heat during the most severe winter frosts, when temperatures drop to -25°C [-13°F],” Shmyhal added.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has responded to the massive Russian attack, saying that efforts to eliminate the consequences of the strikes across Ukraine are ongoing.
“There was another targeted strike specifically on energy facilities. The Russians used a significant amount of ballistic missiles in combination with other missiles – more than 70 missiles and 450 strike drones,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram.
According to the president, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kyiv and the capital region, as well as the Dnipro, Odesa and Vinnytsia regions, came under attack.
As of now, nine people are known to have been injured. Residential buildings and energy infrastructure were damaged.
Later, the DSNS clarified that at least 12 people were injured in the overnight strikes across the country. Among the injured were two rescuers who came under repeated shelling while responding to the attack in the Kharkiv region.
In Kyiv, drone strikes caused fires in high-rise buildings, and a kindergarten was damaged. All available emergency and utility services are involved wherever possible, Zelensky said.
“Taking advantage of the coldest days of winter to terrorize people is more important for Russia than using diplomacy,” he said.
Zelensky stressed that the timely delivery of missiles for air defense systems and the protection of normal life remain top priorities.
“Without pressure on Russia, this war will not end. Now Moscow is choosing terror and escalation, which is why maximum pressure is needed,” he added.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defense confirmed that it carried out a massive missile and drone strike on Ukrainian energy infrastructure on Feb. 3.
According to the ministry, the strikes targeted what it described as “enterprises of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex and energy facilities used in their interests.”
Moscow claimed the attack was conducted “in response to Ukrainian strikes on civilian facilities inside Russia.”
“The objectives of the strike have been achieved. All designated targets have been hit,” the ministry said.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha responded by saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin deliberately waited for temperatures to drop and stockpiled missiles and drones to continue large-scale attacks on Ukraine.
Writing on X, Sybiha said that neither expected diplomatic efforts in Abu Dhabi this week nor Putin’s assurances to the US had stopped Russia from escalating its attacks against civilians during the harshest winter conditions.
“We are dealing with terrorists who must be forced to stop,” Sybiha added.
According to the DSNS, the heat supply situation remains difficult in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro. Joint response units - including climbers and engineering teams - have been deployed to deal with the aftermath of the shelling.
In Kyiv, DSNS energy response specialists are connecting social and critical infrastructure facilities to high-capacity generators.
A total of 118 DSNS heating tents are currently operating across the capital at 84 locations.
“Given the situation, we are preparing to deploy 79 additional heating points. In particular, eight tent camps are planned for today in Kyiv’s Dniprovskyi and Darnytskyi districts,” the report said.
The DSNS is also expanding civilian support points in Kharkiv, with specialized equipment and personnel being redeployed from other regions to assist local responders.
This news story will be updated as more information becomes available.