Kyiv (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Russia attacked Ukraine’s southern city of Odesa with a barrage of drones. It hit energy infrastructure and left around 160,000 people without heating in sub-zero temperatures, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated.
According to officials, the drone attack wounded four people, including a kid, and compelled widespread power cuts. It interrupted heating supplies to nearly 500 apartment buildings, 13 schools, a kindergarten, and several hospitals.
Rescue operations are underway in Odesa after another Russian attack on the energy infrastructure,
Zelenskiy further said.
It is civilian energy facilities against which the Russian army has not spared neither missiles nor attack drones for almost three years.
The Ukrainian military stated that Russia launched 167 drones during overnight raids in the southern Odesa region and other areas across the country. Air defense units and mobile drone hunting groups downed 106 of them, the military stated.
How is Russia intensifying its strikes on Ukraine’s energy sector?
Russia intensified its strikes against Ukrainian power infrastructure in March 2024. It disabled about half of the generating capacity that was in operation and caused widespread blackouts across the nation.
Russia has stepped up its drone use in attacks on Ukraine. It established new records for the number of drones employed in a single attack. Between the night of February 11 and the morning of February 18, Russia deployed 932 drones.
On 16 February 2025, a Russian drone attack destroyed a part of the thermal power plant in Mykolaiv. It left 46,000 residents without heating. On February 14, 2025, another Russian drone struck the non-functioning reactor 4 of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. It pierced the New Safe Confinement installed in 2019.
Russia’s drone and missile strikes often target key infrastructure. It especially targets industrial and energy facilities. They have also targeted critical infrastructure in Chernihiv and Mykolaiv oblasts. Oil facilities and military airfields are also common targets.
