February 7, 2026
Russian forces mounted a large-scale assault on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Saturday, officials said, hitting power plants, substations and transmission lines and triggering emergency outages across most regions.
Ukrenergo, the national grid operator, said emergency load-shedding was imposed in many regions after damage from the strikes. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack involved more than 400 drones and around 40 missiles, with reported damage in Volyn, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Rivne regions and further strikes near Kyiv and Kharkiv.
First Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal reported that the Burshtynska and Dobrotvirska thermal power plants in western Ukraine were hit. Kyiv requested urgent assistance from Poland to help stabilize the grid, and Shmyhal said repair work would begin “as soon as the security situation allows.” The strikes come amid one of Ukraine’s coldest winters in more than a decade and follow a pattern of attacks that have repeatedly forced emergency outages by targeting generation and distribution infrastructure.
Poland briefly grounded flights at two southeastern airports, Rzeszow and Lublin, after strikes near the border. Poland’s air navigation authority said the suspensions — which affected NATO aircraft as well as others — were intended to ensure the free operation of military aviation; both airports resumed operations about two hours later.
Diplomatic activity continued alongside the attacks. Zelenskyy said the United States has given Kyiv and Moscow a deadline until June to reach a peace agreement, and he confirmed Ukraine will take part in a proposed next round of trilateral talks in the United States next week. Earlier trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi led to a prisoner exchange; U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said delegations agreed to exchange 314 prisoners of war.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he had “very, very good talks” on the conflict and suggested “something could be happening.” Reuters sources reported that U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators have discussed an ambitious March target for a peace deal, though some participants expect that timeline to slip amid unresolved territorial issues. Reports have also mentioned talks about holding a referendum and elections in May as part of a potential settlement framework.
Zelenskyy emphasized that Russia must not be allowed to use winter conditions and energy blackouts as leverage, urging allies to provide additional air defense systems, including Patriot and NASAMS batteries, to protect critical infrastructure.
Wolfgang Ischinger, chair of the Munich Security Conference, warned that a ceasefire without substantial forces drawdown in Russia’s western military districts could allow Moscow to rearm and pose a renewed threat to NATO. He said he supports a negotiated settlement but cautioned that security guarantees and reductions in Russian forces would be essential for lasting European stability.
Separately, President Trump signed an executive order immediately suspending a 25% punitive tariff on Indian goods that had been imposed last August amid concerns about discounted Russian oil purchases. India has reportedly reduced some Russian oil orders and agreed to increase purchases from U.S. energy suppliers.
The situation remains fluid: Ukrainian authorities face urgent energy and repair needs after the strikes, while diplomatic efforts and negotiations over timelines, security guarantees and political arrangements continue in parallel.