Russia struck Ukrainian energy infrastructure on Saturday night with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles, forcing emergency outages across Ukraine just days after peace talks concluded with few signs of progress.
“Every day, Russia could choose real diplomacy, but it chooses new strikes,” President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said on social media. “Moscow must be deprived of the ability to use the cold as leverage against Ukraine,” he added.
The overnight strikes hit high-voltage transmission lines that are used to transmit electricity nationwide and that form the backbone of Ukraine’s power grid, as well as power plants and substations, said Denys Shmyhal, the country’s energy minister.
The damage prompted Kyiv to request emergency electricity assistance from Poland, Mr. Shmyhal said on social media. The strikes were the latest in a series of Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure during a winter freeze.
Mr. Shmyhal said the bombardment on Saturday had forced operators at nuclear power plants to “unload” reactor units, meaning that workers reduced power output or shut down reactors as a precautionary measure when external electricity supplies became unstable.
The next round of negotiations to end the war, which is about to enter its fifth year, are expected to take place in mid-February in Miami, and will include delegations from Ukraine, Russia and the United States, Mr. Zelensky said at a news briefing on Friday.
Mr. Zelensky said the Trump administration appeared intent on securing an end to the war by June because of American domestic politics and upcoming midterm elections.
“They say they want everything done by June and want a clear timeline,” Mr. Zelensky said.
On Friday, President Trump told reporters on Air Force One that “we have very good talks going with Russia and Ukraine.” He made no mention of a June deadline.
Peace talks, however, have made little headway. Trilateral negotiations on Thursday in the United Arab Emirates, among Ukraine, Russia and the United States, produced few concrete results.
“The difficult issues remain difficult,” Mr. Zelensky said at the news briefing, adding that Ukraine had once again reaffirmed its positions on the future of the Donbas region, which Russia seeks to fully control. “We stand where we stand,” he said.
Ukraine has rejected a unilateral withdrawal from the parts of eastern Donbas that it still controls, but has proposed compromises including having both armies in the area withdraw an equal distance from the current frontline. Mr. Zelensky has previously said that any compromises would require security guarantees to deter another potential Russian invasion.
During the talks, Mr. Zelensky said, American officials again proposed turning the Donbas region into a free economic zone as part of a broader settlement, but neither Ukraine nor Russia have found the proposal acceptable.
Another major stumbling point remains unresolved, Mr. Zelensky said: ownership of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.
Negotiators in the United Arab Emirates also began discussing the complexities of separating the two armies if a cease-fire were to be declared, Mr. Zelensky said.
That is daunting task. On Friday, Ukraine’s commanding general said the front extended 750 miles, nearly the same distance between New York and Chicago, with an area within range of drone strikes that extends 12 miles in depth on both sides.
Stanislav Kozliuk contributed reporting.
Maria Varenikova covers Ukraine and its war with Russia.
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