Kyiv, Ukraine — At least three people, including a four-year-old child, were killed Friday as Russia launched a “massive” missile and drone barrage across Ukraine, striking power facilities and triggering emergency outages in multiple regions amid freezing temperatures, Ukrainian officials said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky called the assault “an extremely clear signal about Russia’s priorities,” noting the barrage landed “in the midst of negotiations aimed at ending this war.” He urged Ukraine’s Western partners to increase pressure on Moscow.
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Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said emergency power cuts were imposed in several regions after strikes on critical infrastructure. National grid operator Ukrenergo reported fires at energy sites and warned of further disruptions as temperatures hovered near freezing in much of the country.
Local authorities said one person was killed in Kyiv and another in the western region of Khmelnytsky. Officials reported several wounded across multiple regions, including children. In the Black Sea port city of Odesa, fresh strikes sparked fires but did not cause injuries, emergency services said.
Russian attacks along the Black Sea corridor have intensified in recent days, targeting bridges and ports and cutting electricity and heat to thousands at the height of winter, Ukrainian officials said. Kyiv has accused Moscow of seeking to cripple maritime logistics in and out of Odesa.
The latest assault unfolded as the United States hosted separate talks with Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Miami in a bid to advance a peace framework, according to officials. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by state media as saying “slow progress is being observed.” U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff described “productive and constructive” discussions with both sides, though there was no sign of a breakthrough.
“We are talking. It’s going OK,” U.S. President Donald Trump said while at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, adding of the fighting, “I’d like to see it stopped.”
Zelensky said initial drafts of U.S.-backed proposals meet many of Kyiv’s demands, with “nearly 90%” incorporated into draft agreements. He described a 20-point backbone plan and a wider framework on security guarantees involving Ukraine, European countries and the United States, alongside a separate bilateral U.S.-Ukraine security document.
Among provisions under discussion, Zelensky said, are maintaining the Ukrainian army at a peacetime force of 800,000, securing Ukraine’s bid for European Union membership and establishing European-led security arrangements with a U.S. “backstop” to protect Ukraine “in the air, on land, and at sea.” He added that some countries would take on roles in energy security, finance and civil defense. Kyiv wants the bilateral document reviewed by the U.S. Congress, with some annexes kept classified, he said. Washington has asked that no further details be released while talks with Russian envoys continue.
The strikes underline the precariousness of the battlefield as diplomacy inches forward. With the grid under renewed pressure and winter setting in, Ukrainian officials warned of rolling blackouts and urged residents to conserve power. Zelensky said both sides will be forced into compromises, but signaled Kyiv would not accept terms that leave the country vulnerable or cede vital interests.
As emergency crews battled fires and engineers worked to restore supply, Kyiv renewed calls for air-defense systems and sustained Western support, arguing that securing the energy system is essential both to civilian survival through winter and to Ukraine’s leverage at the negotiating table.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
