Russia hits Ukraine's energy system hard on eve of new round of peace talks

During the night of this Saturday, Russia has once again launched a new massive attack with 172 drones and 36 ballistic missiles that has had as its main objective the energy infrastructure of Ukraine, especially in the kyiv region, where, in recent days, power outages have extended for up to 17 hours in many sectors. The new offensive has also hit at least three residential areas of the capital and the northern bridge over the Dnipro River. At least one person has died and eight more have been injured, authorities have reported.

In a video posted Saturday morning on social media, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitshko showed the damage to the bridge and the tram lines that cross it after being hit by several missiles. As a consequence, large traffic jams have formed on the roads near the river since early hours.

The mayor has also assured that the situation in the city is “extremely difficult” as a result of the electricity, water and heating cuts, especially in these last two days, when the temperatures are already beginning to be wintery.

The offensive began shortly before 11 p.m., when the alarms went off almost at the same time that the anti-aircraft defense was heard working, something quite unusual, since alerts usually warn of the threat of missiles a few minutes in advance. From that moment on, the attacks came in waves until early morning.

"In the kyiv region, there have been attacks on substations connecting the Rivne and Khmelnytsky nuclear power plants with kyiv and central Ukraine. Damage has also been reported at substations in the Vinnitsia, Yítomyr, Rivne, Kharkóv and Dnipro regions," President Volodomir Zelensky wrote on his social networks, adding that 12 other regions of the country have also been hit.

This new offensive comes three days before a meeting between Ukraine, Russia and the United States takes place in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. During this meeting, the negotiating teams of both countries will sit at the table together with Steve Witkof and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's special envoys, to explore the possibility of finding a path to end the large-scale invasion launched by Moscow in February 2022.