One dead as Russia launches 50 missiles in overnight attacks

Russia targeted Ukraine with another heavy night of bombing as it launched 50 missiles and nearly 300 drones across different Ukrainian regions, days ahead of the four-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The country’s energy infrastructure remains one of the main targets, as well as logistical infrastructure such as railway facilities and water infrastructure in cities, according to a social media post by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Fifteen people, including four children, have been injured, and one man has been killed in a Russian strike on the Kyiv region, including the capital. Temperatures were reported to have dropped to -10C when the capital was struck during the night.

“The enemy is attacking the capital with ballistic weapons,” the head of Kyiv’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, said on Telegram, urging people to remain in shelters.

Seven regions were targeted, including “Kyiv and the region, the Dnipro, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, and Sumy regions,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media.

Meanwhile, in Mykolaiv, 16,000 people have been left without electricity in below-freezing temperatures after energy infrastructure was damaged in the strikes, regional authorities reported.

Significant damage and large-scale fires were also reported at energy facilities in the south-western region of Odesa by Ukraine’s emergency workers.

Zelenskyy said that this week alone, Russia launched more than 1,300 drone attacks.

Terror attack in Lviv

Meanwhile, also overnight, in the western city of Lviv, 25 people were injured and a police officer was killed in what Ukrainian officials have called a terror attack. Two homemade bombs exploded in waste bins after police responded to a reported break-in, according to the National Police of Ukraine.

For the moment, the Ukrainian president said: “Several individuals have been detained, and all facts will be established within the necessary procedural framework.”

In an interview released on Saturday, US President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff did not rule out the possibility of a summit between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Speaking to Fox News, Witkoff said: “We are hopeful, Jared (Kushner) and I, that – we’ve put some proposals on the table to both sides that will bring them together in the next three weeks and maybe even result in a summit between Zelenskyy and President Putin.”

On Friday, Zelenskyy said that another round of talks may be on the cards before the end of February.

Video editor • Lucy Davalou