Russia launched a large-scale missile-and-drone strike on Ukraine overnight, hitting energy infrastructure in multiple regions and disrupting heat and water supplies, as Ukrainian and Russian negotiators opened US-mediated talks in Geneva.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack was a combined strike “deliberately calculated to cause as much damage as possible” to Ukraine’s energy sector. He said Russia used nearly 400 drones and 29 missiles of various types, including ballistic missiles. Zelenskyy said many were intercepted, but that there were also direct hits.
Rescue and repair efforts are ongoing in many of our regions after a massive Russian attack. It was a combined strike, deliberately calculated to cause as much damage as possible to our energy sector. Nearly 400 drones and 29 missiles of various types were used, including… pic.twitter.com/hHkWCFkOGB
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 17, 2026
Ukraine’s air force reported that, from the evening of 16 February into the morning of 17 February, Russia fired four Iskander-M ballistic missiles, 20 Kh-101 air-launched cruise missiles, four Iskander-K cruise missiles, one Kh-59/69 guided missile, and 396 drones including Shahed-type systems and other models. It said air defences shot down 25 missiles and 367 drones, while recording impacts by four ballistic missiles and 18 drones at 13 locations, with debris falling in a further eight areas.
The first deputy energy minister, Artem Nekrasov, said a Russian drone struck a car carrying employees of the Sloviansk thermal power plant in Donetsk region on the morning of 17 February, killing three energy workers. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service in Donetsk region said the vehicle was hit by an FPV drone in the town of Mykolaivka in Kramatorsk district; one person was wounded, and firefighters extinguished a blaze in the car.
The Sloviansk plant is located near the front line in Donetsk region. Ukrainian officials have previously reported strikes on energy sites in the area, and Kyiv has repeatedly warned that repair crews face continuing risks from drones and artillery while trying to restore services.
Zelenskyy said 12 regions were targeted and that, according to available reports, nine people were injured, including children. He said more than ten residential buildings were damaged, along with railway infrastructure.
Odesa, the Black Sea port city, was among the areas reporting severe disruption. Zelenskyy said “tens of thousands of people” were without heat and water after a drone strike, and that emergency and repair services were working to restore supplies. Reuters reported that the strikes damaged Odesa’s power grid and left large numbers without electricity and heating.
Nekrasov said the overnight combined attack damaged energy infrastructure in several regions, with de-energised consumers reported in Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions. He said disruptions to heat supply were being recorded in Sumy and Odesa. He added that emergency repair work had begun where security conditions allowed.
The strike took place as negotiators from Ukraine and Russia began talks in Geneva under US mediation. Reuters reported that the meeting was the third round of a US-brokered process and the first to directly address land-related questions linked to Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory.
According to Reuters, Ukraine’s delegation is headed by Rustem Umerov, with Kyiv saying security and humanitarian issues are also on the agenda. Russia’s delegation is led by Vladimir Medinsky and includes intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov and envoy Kirill Dmitriev, Reuters reported.
The timing reinforced Kyiv’s argument that Russia is continuing long-range attacks on critical infrastructure while diplomatic contacts proceed. Zelenskyy called for stronger sanctions pressure on Moscow and steady, rapid support for Ukraine’s armed forces and air defence, arguing that diplomacy would be more effective if backed by “justice and strength”.
