Russia pounded Ukraine’s energy grid with missiles and drones Tuesday, causing power outages in Kyiv and other major cities as temperatures dropped below freezing just a day after President Donald Trump restated that the Kremlin had agreed to pause power sector attacks.
Energy operators have described it as the worst attack on the power sector so far this year. Trump said Thursday that he had persuaded Russian President Vladimir Putin to refrain from targeting Kyiv and other cities for one week, during a period of “extraordinary cold.” A day later, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the pause would be over by Sunday.
On Monday, though, Trump repeated that Putin had promised he would refrain from hitting Kyiv and other cities, suggesting that the president thought the ceasefire was still in effect. “I asked him if he wouldn’t shoot for a period of one week. No missiles going into Kyiv or any other towns, and he’s agreed to do it. So it’s something,” he said in the Oval Office.
Hours later, the missiles began falling on Kyiv.
Russian forces unleashed a hail of fire across Ukraine overnight Tuesday, targeting its power plants and energy infrastructure even as temperatures approached minus-4 degrees Fahrenheit (minus-20 Celsius) in Kyiv.
He said that Moscow launched some 70 missiles and 450 attack drones — several times the typical amount of missiles during an overnight barrage.
As Ukraine cleaned up from the onslaught, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte arrived in Kyiv for an official visit, during which he discussed possible security arrangements for Ukraine.
