Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. file | Photo credit: Reuters
Russian forces attacked Ukrainian power infrastructure ahead of a new round of peace talks, killing three energy workers and leaving tens of thousands of people without power and heat, officials said on Tuesday (Feb 17, 2026).
President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the overnight attacks on 12 Ukrainian regions that were attacked hours before the start of trilateral talks in Geneva, jointly backed by Kyiv and Moscow.
“This is a combined strike, specially calculated to cause as much damage as possible to our energy sector,” Mr. Zelenskiy wrote in X, calling for “justice and strength” to support diplomacy.
Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has repeatedly attacked Ukrainian energy facilities this winter, knocking out power and heat.
Ukraine’s deputy energy minister said three workers were killed when a Russian drone hit their car near the Sloviansk power plant in a frontline area where Moscow wants Kyiv to leave for peace.
Private energy firm DTEK said electricity infrastructure supplying Ukraine’s strategic Black Sea port city of Odesa had suffered “incredibly severe” damage. “Repairs will take a long time to restore equipment to working order,” the company said on social media.
Deputy Energy Minister Artem Nekrasov said households in five regions experienced power cuts due to the strikes, and there were also reported disruptions to heat supplies in Odesa and Sumy, the regional capital in northern Ukraine near the Russian border.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia had fired about 400 drones and 29 missiles. Most were shot down, but 13 targets were hit in Ukraine.
Published – February 17, 2026 04:30 pm IST