Russians attacked Ukraine`s critical infrastructure with missiles and drones; the most difficult situation for now is in Kyiv

Russian forces launched a large-scale combined aerial attack on Ukraine overnight on 19–20 January, firing a total of 372 drones and missiles. The attack killed and injured civilians across multiple Ukrainian regions and caused widespread disruptions to electricity, water, and heating, Ukrainian authorities said. Russian forces struck Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast, as well as Zaporizhzhia, Rivne, Odesa, Kharkiv, Poltava, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts with missiles and drones, targeting both civilian and critical infrastructure amid freezing winter temperatures.

According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russia launched 18 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles, and 339 drones, including around 250 Shahed-type drones, with Kyiv as the primary target. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 27 missiles and 315 drones, and Russia also used a Zircon hypersonic anti-ship missile in the attack. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia employed “updated tactics,” without providing details. One man was killed in Kyiv Oblast, while civilians were injured in Kyiv and the city of Dnipro, local officials reported.

Energy infrastructure was among the main targets, including substations supplying Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, as part of Russia’s ongoing campaign against the energy system. Despite the strikes, Russia failed to disconnect the nuclear facilities from the grid, Ukrenergo CEO Vitaliy Zaichenko said. The substations link nuclear plants in western and southern Ukraine to the national grid, with nuclear energy remaining the country’s primary electricity source during the deepening winter energy crisis.

Half of Kyiv is left without heating after the Russian attack

Around half of Kyiv’s housing stock remains without heating following a Russian attack on 20 January, Serhii Kovalenko, CEO of the Ukrainian electricity and gas supplier Yasno, said.

According to Kovalenko, about 50% of residential buildings in the capital are currently without heat. Emergency power outages are still in effect in Kyiv, while previously planned outage schedules are not being applied. As of now, some 173,000 consumers remain without electricity.

He said power engineers continue working to restore the electricity supply despite freezing temperatures. Kovalenko also urged residents to use electricity responsibly once power is restored and avoid switching on multiple appliances at the same time, warning that sudden surges in consumption could overload the grid and lead to further outages.

Ukraine now has more air defenses, but Russia has even more missiles for future attacks - Zelensky

Ukraine has strengthened its air defenses, but Russia still has many times more missiles available for future attacks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said today following a massive overnight strike on the country.

Zelensky said that today`s strike alone cost Ukraine about €80 million ($88 million) in air defense missiles and stressed that Ukraine urgently needs more systems and interceptors. He noted that only U.S.-made Patriot PAC-3 missiles are effective against Russian ballistic missiles, whose use has increased sharply. While Ukraine is gradually finding ways to counter Shahed-type drones through interceptors and mobile fire groups, Zelensky said protection against ballistic missiles still depends heavily on continued U.S. and allied support.

Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in recent months, triggering prolonged power outages and prompting authorities to declare a state of emergency. Zelensky said partners have begun increasing assistance, including new air defense deliveries and emergency energy support.

According to Ukraine’s Security Service, since October 2025 Russian forces have struck dozens of power plants and more than 150 substations, deepening the country’s winter humanitarian crisis.

Power restored at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant after Russian attack

The Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant has been reconnected to Ukraine’s unified power grid after a blackout caused by a Russian overnight strike that damaged parts of the facility’s energy infrastructure, the Ministry of Energy reported. Electricity supply has also been restored to the Sarcophagus covering the destroyed reactor and to the spent nuclear fuel storage facility.

The ministry said radiation levels at the site and across the exclusion zone remain within safe limits, adding that the plant has sufficient fuel reserves and backup power to maintain operations if further attacks occur. Ukraine has also called for an extraordinary meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors to assess the consequences of the strike, a move agreed upon by Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.