A Russian drone strike on Mykolaiv overnight on February 16 cut off heating for over 100,000 residents, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported. The attack targeted the city's critical infrastructure, worsening conditions for civilians in the dead of winter.
Zelenskyy dismissed Russia’s claims of wanting peace, pointing out that Mykolaiv is not a military target and that the strike was designed purely to inflict suffering on civilians.
"Those who truly seek to restore peace do not act this way," he wrote on Telegram.
He assured that emergency repair crews were already working to restore heating and urged Ukraine’s international partners to step up defenses against Russian air strikes.
The assault on Mykolaiv was part of a massive overnight Russian attack, in which Russian forces launched 143 drones and two ballistic missiles across Ukraine. Most of the drones were intercepted, according to the Ukrainian Air Force, but the damage to infrastructure was still severe.
Zelenskyy also referenced a recent attack on the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, where a Russian drone strike damaged the nuclear shield above Reactor 4 on February 14.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that its team at Chornobyl heard an explosion around 01:50 AM on February 13-14. The blast originated from the New Safe Confinement (NSC)—the massive steel structure enclosing the remains of Reactor 4, which exploded during the infamous 1986 disaster.
Zelenskyy warned that these repeated attacks on critical infrastructure, including nuclear facilities, should be met with a strong international response. He called for greater military support to counter the growing threat and prevent Russia’s aggression from becoming a "prolonged or normalized" crisis.
