Russia’s drone attack struck the Ukrainian city of Odesa.

Kyiv (Eurotoday) – Russia launched a wave of drone attacks on Ukraine’s southern city of Odesa, targeting energy infrastructure and leaving approximately 160,000 residents without heating amid sub-zero temperatures, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated.

Officials reported that the drone strikes injured four individuals, including a child, and caused widespread power outages. The attacks disrupted heating supplies to nearly 500 apartment buildings, 13 schools, a kindergarten, and several hospitals.

Rescue operations are underway in Odesa after another Russian attack on the energy infrastructure,

Zelenskiy further said.

It is civilian energy facilities against which the Russian army has not spared neither missiles nor attack drones for almost three years.

The Ukrainian military reported that Russia launched 167 drones in overnight raids across the southern Odesa region and other parts of Ukraine. Air defense units and mobile drone-hunting teams managed to shoot down 106 of them, according to military sources.

How is Russia escalating attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector?

Russia ramped up its assaults on Ukraine’s power infrastructure in March 2024, disabling nearly half of the country’s operational generating capacity and triggering widespread blackouts blank”>across the nation.

The use of drones in Russian attacks against Ukraine has been increasing, with record numbers deployed in single operations. Between the night of February 11 and the morning of February 18, Russia launched 932 drones.

On February 16, 2025, a Russian drone strike destroyed part of the thermal power plant in Mykolaiv, cutting off heating for 46,000 residents. Two days prior, on February 14, 2025, another Russian drone hit the inactive reactor 4 of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, damaging the New Safe Confinement installed in 2019.

Russia’s drone and missile strikes frequently target key infrastructure, particularly industrial and energy facilities. Critical infrastructure in Chernihiv and Mykolaiv oblasts has also been targeted, alongside oil facilities and military airfields.