A four-day ceasefire came to an end on February 2 after Russia launched a massive missile and drone assault on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, targeting multiple cities and critical facilities.

US President Donald Trump announced the temporary halt in attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure last week after a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin as three-way peace talks continue at the Abu Dhabi meeting that kicked off on January 24.

Russia has scaled up its strikes on Ukraine’s critical power and heating infrastructure as the world is hit by a big freeze after the polar vortex collapse this year allowing freezing Arctic air to spill out of the polar regions and cover most northern countries. Putin has been attempting to freeze Ukraine into submission as the peace process stalls after good progress at the end of last year.

In Kyiv the temperatures have fallen below 20°C just as Russia has plunged an estimated 1.3mn homes into darkness. Temperatures in Kyiv were -24°C overnight according to local reports.

Dozens of explosions were reported across Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa and other cities, with Ukrainian officials confirming that residential areas were also struck. At least three people were injured in Kyiv, where air defences engaged waves of drones and missiles beginning shortly after midnight local time, Suspilne public broadcaster reported.

The renewed attacks come days after Trump said on January 29 that he personally asked Putin to refrain from bombing Kyiv or targeting energy assets and infrastructure, prompting a temporary halt to strikes on energy infrastructure. The Kremlin had confirmed that the pause would last only until February 1.

“The Russians chose a freezing February night to launch another massive strike on Kyiv,” Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, wrote on social media, as cited by The Kyiv Independent. “Kyiv residents, stay in shelters. It will be a difficult night,” he said.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a kindergarten and a non-residential building were damaged in the Dniprovskyi and Darnytskyi districts of Kyiv. Multiple critical energy sites were also targeted. The Darnytska Thermal Power Plant (TPP-4) in Kyiv was hit by four Iskander-M ballistic missiles. The critical 750kV substation that connects the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant to Kyiv and central Ukraine was struck, worsening the city’s power shortages. The 750kV substations are the backbone of Ukraine’s power grid and supply entire cities as well as acting as regional interconnectors. Many are unprotected and give Russia the ability to blackout entire cities or regions with just a few accurate missile strikes.

In Kharkiv, Governor Oleh Synehubov reported a missile strike in the Slobidskyi district that injured two people. Seven Iskander-M missiles hit Thermal Power Plant No. 5, while the 330 kV Losevo substation was hit by a Tornado-S missile. Power outages were confirmed in Kharkiv, the Sumy region and Chuhuiv, according to local reports.

Strikes were also reported on the Pridneprovskaya Thermal Power Plant in Dnipropetrovsk using both Iskander-M missiles and Geran-2 drones. In Makariv, Kyiv Oblast, Kh-22/Kh-32 cruise missiles again targeted the 750 kV Kievska substation, already damaged in a previous strike on January 24. Monitoring channels reported that two Zircon hypersonic missiles were launched towards the Kyiv region, with flight speeds recorded at 7,100 and 7,800 km/h.

The Ukrainian Air Force issued a ballistic missile alert over Kyiv as further explosions shook the city. Local media reported dozens of drones and missiles in the air overnight, with impacts recorded far from the front line.

Poland's Armed Forces confirmed they scrambled fighter jets during the attack to secure national airspace, as some of the missiles approached the country's eastern border.

"The scale and intensity of this attack show that critical infrastructure remains a primary Russian target,” Klitschko said.