Kyiv (BN24) – Russia unleashed a massive overnight assault on the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk, striking infrastructure with waves of drones and missiles, in what officials in Kyiv described as proof that President Vladimir Putin has no intention of seeking peace despite international efforts to end the war.
Kremenchuk Mayor Vitalii Maletskyi said on Tuesday that dozens of explosions rocked the industrial hub in the Poltava region, targeting energy facilities and transport links. The attack left hundreds without power and forced emergency crews to work through the night to restore critical services.
The barrage coincided with U.S. President Donald Trump’s talks in Washington with European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Trump pledged American support for Ukraine’s long-term security and announced plans to broker direct talks between Zelenskiy and Putin, followed by a trilateral summit aimed at negotiating peace.
But Ukrainian officials said Moscow’s actions spoke louder than words. “At the very same time when Putin was assuring Trump over the phone that he seeks peace, and when President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was holding talks at the White House with European leaders about a just peace, Putin’s army launched yet another massive attack on Kremenchuk,” Maletskyi said on Telegram. “Once again, the world has seen that Putin does not want peace — he wants to destroy Ukraine.”
According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia launched 270 drones and 10 missiles overnight in the largest strike so far this month. Ukrainian defenses intercepted 230 drones and six missiles but confirmed that at least 16 sites were hit. In Poltava, regional governor Volodymyr Kohut reported damage to administrative buildings tied to the local energy grid, leaving nearly 1,500 homes and 119 businesses without electricity in the Lubny district.
“Fortunately, there were no casualties,” Kohut said.
In the northern Chernihiv region, another Russian drone strike Tuesday morning damaged infrastructure and triggered power outages in several districts, Governor Viacheslav Chaus said.
Russia, which has intensified attacks on Ukraine’s energy network as winter approaches, did not immediately comment on the Kremenchuk strike. However, Moscow claimed Ukraine carried out its own overnight drone attacks on Russian territory, sparking fires at an oil refinery and damaging the roof of a hospital in the Volgograd region.
The latest escalation underscored the widening battle over infrastructure, as both sides target facilities crucial to sustaining military operations. Kyiv argues the timing of Russia’s strikes shows Putin is deliberately undermining peace initiatives, even as Western leaders attempt to push forward negotiations.
