Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. File
| Photograph Credit score: Reuters
Russian forces pounded Ukrainian energy infrastructure earlier than a brand new spherical of peace talks, killing three power employees and leaving tens of hundreds of individuals with out energy and warmth, officers stated on Tuesday (February 17, 2026).
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned the in a single day strikes on 12 Ukrainian areas that got here underneath assault hours earlier than the scheduled begin of U.S.-backed trilateral talks involving Kyiv and Moscow in Geneva.
“It was a mixed strike, specifically calculated to trigger as a lot harm as doable to our power sector,” Mr. Zelenskiy wrote on X, calling for diplomacy to be backed by “justice and energy.”
Russia, which started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has regularly carried out assaults on Ukrainian power services this winter that have knocked out energy and heating.
Ukraine’s deputy power minister stated the three employees have been killed when a Russian drone struck their automotive close to the Sloviansk energy plant, in a frontline space which Moscow needs Kyiv to cede in alternate for peace.
Energy infrastructure supplying Ukraine’s strategic Black Sea port metropolis of Odesa suffered “extremely critical” harm, stated non-public power firm DTEK. “Repairs will take a very long time to revive the tools to working order,” the corporate stated on social media.
Deputy Power Minister Artem Nekrasov stated houses in 5 areas had suffered energy cuts on account of the strikes, and in addition reported disruptions to heating provide in Odesa and Sumy, a regional capital in northern Ukraine close to the Russian border.
Ukraine’s air pressure stated Russia launched almost 400 drones and 29 missiles. Most have been downed, however 13 targets in Ukraine have been hit, it added.
Revealed – February 17, 2026 04:30 pm IST