Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the international community to apply “maximum pressure” on Russia after Moscow launched hundreds of drones and missiles into Ukraine overnight into Tuesday morning in what Zelensky said was a major attack on the country’s critical energy infrastructure.
The Ukrainian Air Force stated that Russia launched 71 missiles and 450 drones towards the country overnight, of which 38 missiles and 412 drones were shot down or suppressed. The Air Force said 27 missiles and 31 drones struck 27 locations.
The attack was the Ukrainian Air Force’s largest so far this year and the largest total number of munitions fired in a single night since the night of December 27.
The number of missiles fired Monday night was also unusually high, the most in a single night since April 24, according to Air Force data analyzed by ABC News.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a post on Telegram that the Russian military carried out “large-scale strikes” against “the Ukrainian military-industrial complex and energy facilities used for its benefit, as well as storage and assembly sites for long-range drones.”
AP – PHOTOS: In this photo provided by Ukraine’s emergency services, emergency services workers work to extinguish a fire in a multi-story apartment building following a Russian attack in Kiev, Ukraine, on February 3, 2026.
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Zelensky posted on Telegram that areas including Sumy, Kharkiv, Kiev, Dnipro, Odessa and Vinnitsa were attacked, with energy infrastructure and residential buildings among them. At least nine people have been confirmed injured so far, the president said.
“It is more important for Russia to use the coldest days of winter to scare the population than to resort to diplomacy,” Zelensky said. “This clearly shows what partners need and what help they can provide. Timely delivery of air defense system missiles and the protection of normal life are our top priorities. Without pressure on Russia, this war will not end.”
Zelensky added: “Currently, Moscow is choosing terror and escalation, which is why maximum pressure is needed.”
Ukrainian Energy Minister Denis Shmyhal said thermal power plants supplying power to parts of Kiev, Kharkiv and Dnipro were among the targets of the strike. “These targets are not military targets. They are entirely civilians,” Shmihar wrote on Telegram.
DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, said the Russian attack caused “significant” damage to its power plants, marking the “ninth large-scale attack on the company’s thermal power stations since October 2025.”
Alex Babenko/AP – Photo: People take shelter in a subway station during the Russian attack in Kiev, Ukraine, February 3, 2026.
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Emergency power outages were imposed in the Dnieper and Darnitsa regions of Kiev, DTEK said. Energy infrastructure in Odessa was also damaged, DTEK added.
Ukraine’s state energy company Ukrenergo reported “significant power outages in the Kiev, Kiev, Kharkiv, Vinnytsia and Odessa regions” and attributed them to “massive” attacks during the night. “Energy facilities were also damaged in several areas,” Ukrenergo wrote on Telegram.
At the request of U.S. President Donald Trump, Moscow and Kiev agreed to suspend attacks on energy infrastructure, which Moscow recently launched. Russia said the suspension expired on Sunday.
This winter marked the fourth full-scale Russian incursion, with Moscow focusing its attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, wreaking havoc on the national grid and plunging millions of Ukrainians into rolling and prolonged blackouts.
Temperatures dropped to -14°F in parts of Ukraine on Monday night.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on
Gleb Garanich/Reuters – Photo: Ukrainian servicemen hit a Russian missile during a Russian missile and drone attack in Kiev, Ukraine, February 3, 2026.
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Zelensky later made the same accusation in a Telegram post. “The Russian military took advantage of U.S. advice to temporarily suspend attacks, not to support diplomacy but simply to stockpile missiles for the coldest days of the year,” he said.
Russia struck the latest major blow despite an upcoming round of trilateral peace talks with U.S. and Ukrainian representatives in the United Arab Emirates, which are due to resume on Wednesday and continue until Thursday.
“Every such attack by Russia proves that Moscow’s attitude has not changed: they still count on war and the destruction of Ukraine, and do not take diplomacy seriously,” Zelensky said. “The work of our negotiating team will adjust accordingly.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte visited Kiev on Tuesday to meet with Zelensky and address the Ukrainian parliament. Rutte told Ukrainian representatives that trilateral talks between the United States, Ukraine and Russia had “made important progress.”
“But Russia continues to attack, as it did last night,” Rutte added. “It shows their lack of seriousness about peace.”
Monday night’s attack prompted the scramble of NATO fighter jets over Poland, which borders Ukraine in the west. The Polish Armed Forces Operations Command said no violations of the country’s airspace were recorded.
Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters – Photo: A police officer carries part of a Russian drone that was spotted at the construction site of an apartment building in Kiev, Ukraine, February 3, 2026.
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German fighter jets and Dutch air defense systems were among the assets on alert, the command said.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said Russian forces shot down at least 10 Ukrainian drones overnight.
The Ukrainian armed forces attacked multiple targets in Russian-controlled territory on Tuesday night, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces confirmed in a post on Telegram.
The General Staff said Ukraine’s targets included a drone training and production base in occupied Zaporozhye, a Russian troop staging area in Belgorod, Russia’s western border region, and an electronic warfare base in occupied Donetsk.
Natalia Popova, ABC News, Oleksiy PushemskyPatrick Revere Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report.
