Russia's fiery Ukraine strikes leave Kyiv residents in frigid cold with no power, water

Russian strikes in Ukraine have snapped power for thousands of residents in Kyiv as they grapple with intense cold weather. Officials have said that they were racing to restore power to 500,000 consumers and heating to 6,000 buildings in Kyiv as temperatures hovered around -10 degrees Celsius (14 Fahrenheit), after an attack that involved 242 drones and 36 missiles.

The strikes resulted in the deaths of four people. Russia reportedly used a hypersonic Oreshnik missile in the western Lviv region near the EU border. Kyiv resident Nataliya Revutska, whose building came under the latest Russian attack, told Reuters that her family and other residents are left with “no water or power.”

Ukrainian officials have warned that a cold snap could further strain the country’s energy system, which has come under regular attack since autumn.

Deputy energy minister Mykola Kolisnyk told reporters on Friday that only part of the outages were a result of the overnight attack, with the weather accounting for the greater portion.

Russia deploys Oreshnik missile

Russia on Friday said it attacked Ukraine with a nuclear-capable missile in its latest overnight barrage.

The Russian defence ministry said it attacked Ukraine with an Oreshnik missile in response to a Ukrainian attack on one of the residences of President Vladimir Putin in December, according to Reuters.

Oreshnic is a hypersonic, nuclear-capable intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM). It is designed to carry both conventional and nuclear warheads. Currently, Ukraine does not appear to have the capabilities to defend against such missiles.

The Russian attack amounts to a major escalation at a time when US President Donald Trump has ramped up efforts to bring the war to an end with a negotiated settlement. But such efforts have stalled as  Putin has essentially rejected the latest proposal  and opposed US and European security guarantees for Ukraine.

While Russia has called the Oreshnik strike a response to a Ukrainian attack on one of Putin’s residences, Ukraine has denied launching any such attack and the Trump administration has assessed the same.