February 7, 2026
Ukraine’s power grid operator and senior officials said Russian forces launched a “massive attack” on the country’s energy infrastructure on Saturday, triggering emergency outages across most regions and leaving many areas without electricity.
Ukrenergo said emergency outages were applied in most regions because of damage caused by the assault. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the strikes involved more than 400 drones and about 40 missiles, with main targets including the energy grid, generation facilities and distribution substations. Damage was reported in Volyn, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Rivne regions, with additional strikes in Kyiv and Kharkiv regions.
First Deputy Prime Minister and energy minister Denys Shmyhal said the Burshtynska and Dobrotvirska power plants in western Ukraine had been hit and Kyiv had requested emergency assistance from neighboring Poland. Shmyhal said repairs would begin “as soon as the security situation allows.” The attacks come amid one of Ukraine’s coldest winters in over a decade and follow a pattern of strikes on power plants, substations and transmission lines that have caused chronic deficits and repeated emergency outages.
Poland temporarily grounded flights at two southeastern airports, Rzeszow and Lublin, after Russian strikes near the border. Poland’s air navigation authority said the suspensions were to ensure the free operation of military aviation; the closures included NATO aircraft operating in the area. Flight operations at both airports resumed about two hours later.
Diplomatic and political developments continued alongside the attacks. Zelenskyy told reporters that the United States has given Kyiv and Moscow a deadline until June to reach a peace deal, saying Washington wants a clear schedule and will push to end the war by summer. He confirmed Ukraine will participate in the next round of trilateral talks proposed for next week in the United States. Earlier trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi resulted in a prisoner exchange, and US special envoy Steve Witkoff said delegations had agreed to exchange 314 prisoners of war.
US President Donald Trump said he had “very, very good talks” on Russia and Ukraine and suggested “something could be happening,” while sources told Reuters that US and Ukrainian negotiators had been exploring an ambitious March target for a peace deal — a timeline some sources expect to slip amid unresolved territorial disputes. Reports have also indicated discussions about a possible referendum and elections in May as part of a settlement process.
Zelenskyy stressed that Russia must be prevented from using winter and energy blackouts as leverage against Ukraine, calling for air defense systems including Patriot and NASAMS from Kyiv’s allies to protect critical infrastructure.
Separately, Wolfgang Ischinger, chair of the Munich Security Conference, warned that a ceasefire could allow Russia to rearm and intensify its threat to NATO unless accompanied by a substantial drawdown of forces in Russia’s western military districts. Ischinger said he supports a peace deal but cautioned that stopping Russia’s military buildup would be essential for long-term European security.
On trade, President Trump signed an executive order to remove a 25% punitive tariff on goods from India that had been imposed last August amid concerns over discounted Russian oil purchases. The tariff suspension takes effect immediately; India has recently cut some Russian oil orders and agreed to buy more energy from US suppliers.
The situation remains fluid: Kyiv faces immediate energy and repair needs after the attacks, while diplomatic efforts and negotiations continue in parallel as parties discuss timelines and security guarantees.