Russian strikes left thousands of apartment buildings in Ukraine’s capital without heat in subfreezing temperatures on Tuesday, the latest assault in a campaign that the Ukrainian authorities say is aimed at breaking the country’s morale.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said that Russia had fired “a significant number” of ballistic and cruise missiles, along with over 300 attack drones, across the country overnight. The emergency services were engaged in a number of regions, he said in a statement, adding that “the most difficult situation for now is in Kyiv,” the capital.
More than 5,600 high-rise buildings there were without heat on Tuesday, according to the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko. He noted that most of those buildings had only just had their heat restored after the last large-scale attack on Kyiv’s infrastructure on Jan. 8, and he said that one side of the city was without water on Tuesday.
With temperatures at around 6 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 14 Celsius, the authorities found themselves again scrambling to restore services.
Kyiv, home to about three million people, has been among the Ukrainian cities hardest hit by Russia’s repeated attacks on energy infrastructure. Ukrainian officials say the strikes weaponize winter — aiming to freeze the country into submission to force it to accept concessions in peace talks brokered by the Trump administration.
The situation has significantly deteriorated in recent weeks, as Russia has intensified the attacks. Many people in the capital have electricity for just a few hours a day. Backup batteries have run low. Without water or heat in the Parliament building, lawmakers were ordered to work remotely.
The authorities recently moved to close schools until February amid the crisis. They also have deployed mobile kitchens to provide hot meals and set up tents around the capital where residents can get warm and charge their devices.
The Trump administration’s efforts to broker an end to the war in Ukraine have in recent days seemingly taken a back seat to another crisis: Greenland.
As European leaders rushed to respond to President Trump’s rapidly escalating campaign to acquire Greenland, Ukrainian officials urged allies to maintain support and for the world not to look away.
Mr. Zelensky on Tuesday appealed for more air defenses from partners and said “it is important that the world does not remain silent” about the overnight Russian strikes.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andriy Sybiha, said that the “barbaric strike this morning is a wake-up call to world leaders gathering in Davos: support for the Ukrainian people is urgent.”
“There will be no peace in Europe without a lasting peace for Ukraine,” he wrote on X. “We need urgent additional energy assistance, air defense and interceptors, as well as sanctions pressure on Moscow.”
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