Russia-Ukraine war: Key events on Day 1,426

Russia launched a barrage of drone attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, cutting off power in five regions across the country amid freezing temperatures, Ukrainian officials said.

The Ukrainian Air Force said that Russia’s military had launched 145 drones at targets in Ukraine and that 126 were successfully intercepted.

In an attack on the southern Odesa region, energy and gas infrastructure were damaged, the regional governor said, adding that one person was hurt.

DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, said its facility in Odesa was “substantially” damaged, knocking out power to 30,800 households.

Russia also hit Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv with missiles on Monday, significantly damaging a critical infrastructure facility, the city’s mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said on the Telegram messaging app. Terekhov did not provide details about the type of facility that was struck.

Russian forces have taken control of the settlements of Pavlivka, in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region, and Novopavlivka, in the Donetsk region, Russia’s Ministry of Defence said. The ministry’s claims could not be independently verified.

The Czech Republic will not sell or donate to Ukraine light combat planes that could shoot down incoming Russian drones, the country’s prime minister, Andrej Babis, said, rejecting a plan outlined by President Petr Pavel. Pavel earlier said that Ukraine had offered to buy some of the country’s subsonic L-159 jets.

Ukraine will face enormous challenges to organise its first elections since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion, with its infrastructure shattered and millions of people displaced by war, the country’s election chief, Oleh Didenko, said, responding to Trump’s demand for Ukraine to hold the vote.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced that the 330-kilovolt (kV) Ferosplavna-1 power line has been reconnected to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The power line is one of two high-voltage lines supplying electricity that powers the Russian-controlled nuclear power plant in Ukraine, and was disconnected earlier this month.

Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on Telegram that he had informed the head of the IAEA about Russian preparations for more strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities, including those that ensure the operations of nuclear plants.

Russia’s federal budget proceeds from taxes on oil and gas are expected to drop by 46 percent in January from the same month in 2025 due to weaker oil prices and a stronger rouble, according to an analysis by Reuters. Oil and gas revenue are key to funding Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Polish pipeline operator Gaz-System will increase gas transmission capacity to Ukraine between February and April, the company said in a statement, as Russia continues to attack Ukraine’s energy sector.