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By Brendan Cole and Shane Croucher
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said dozens of people were hurt, including children, in a massive Russian strike across eight regions of Ukraine overnight into Thursday.
The aerial attack involved 420 drones and 39 missiles, Zelensky said, and it followed his call with U.S. President Donald Trump.
"Last night, Russia once again waged war on critical infrastructure and ordinary residential buildings," Zelensky wrote on social media, adding that private homes and apartments were struck.
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Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two U.S. envoys attempting to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, were also on the call between Zelensky and Trump ahead of bilateral talks in Geneva on Thursday.
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Zelensky said gas infrastructure in the Poltava region was hit during the Russian attack. In the Kyiv and Dnipro regions, electrical substations were struck.
Russia has targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure during the bitterly cold winter months, leaving civilians without heating or power for extended periods of time.
"Most missiles launched today were successfully intercepted thanks to our partners swiftly sending part of the air defense missiles agreed upon at the recent Ramstein meeting," Zelensky said.
He continued: "Unfortunately, there were also hits. And this means we must continue working even more actively. The cold has not yet fully receded, and air defense missiles are needed every single day while Russia continues its attempts to destroy our energy system. I thank everyone who understands this and helps us."
Neighboring Poland, a NATO ally, scrambled jets in response to the Russian attack on Ukraine.
Zelensky's comments follow his teasing of the prospect of trilateral talks in March to end the conflict, which he said could "create an opportunity to move talks to the leaders' level." Zelensky said differences in the sides were "not at the military level" but rather in the political will to end the war and in the issue of territories.
There has been no diplomatic breakthrough in the war as Moscow demands that Ukraine cede the entire Donbas region while continuing to attack Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure. Kyiv has rejected the territorial demands, calling instead for a ceasefire along the current front line.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that territorial issues were complex, and he repeated that Putin's offer to meet Zelensky in Moscow remained on the table, a proposal that Kyiv rejected.
Russia's TASS news agency reported that Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin's envoy, would be flying to Geneva on Thursday to meet the U.S. negotiators.
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