Russian missiles strike Kyiv power plant despite reported energy ceasefire

Late Tuesday night, Russian ballistic missiles struck Darnytska CHP-4, one of Kyiv's largest power plants, along with a residential apartment building in the city. Two people were killed and 21 injured in the strike on the residential structure, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. By early Wednesday morning, the cascading damage had knocked out power to parts of the capital. The plant itself supplies heating and electricity to the Dniprovskyi district and portions of the Darnytskyi district—a critical piece of infrastructure that has been repeatedly targeted throughout the war.

What made this strike particularly pointed was its timing and the accusation that followed. Just two days earlier, US President Donald Trump had announced that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an energy ceasefire. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had supported that arrangement. Yet here were the missiles coming anyway, and Zelensky was furious—not just at Russia, but at his Western allies. He said the strikes came with "no early warning from our partners," a pointed reference to the intelligence-sharing relationship with the United States and other NATO countries. "Ukraine supported an energy ceasefire," Zelensky said in a statement. "Russia is targeting yet another power plant and the lives of our people. This is absolutely unjust: when they are destroying our energy infrastructure, and Ukraine is not even receiving early warnings about ballistic missile launches."

The accusation carried weight because of what had happened the night before. On Monday, Kyiv had been hit again by Russian missiles, and in the aftermath, there was widespread speculation that the Trump administration had cut off the intelligence sharing that allows Ukraine to detect incoming threats. Trump denied it on Tuesday. "We are helping them and we are sharing intel," he said. "We want the war to end. So we're working with them and with Russia on getting the war to end." When pressed about whether Russia had violated the ceasefire, Trump was evasive. Both countries want the war to end, he said, but "just don't know how to get there."

The broader context made the moment even more fraught. Zelensky had said on Sunday that a 60-day ceasefire would give Ukraine time to hold presidential elections—a comment that came after Trump suggested "it's time for Ukraine to get a new president." Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had responded dismissively, saying Ukraine didn't deserve the "respite" a ceasefire would bring. He also warned that any pause in fighting would simply allow Europe to "pump [Ukraine] with new weapons" to continue the conflict later.

Darnytska CHP-4 has become a symbol of Russia's targeting strategy. It was severely damaged in a separate missile attack in February, forcing it to shut down entirely. That single strike left more than 1,000 residential buildings without heating and hot water, along with 47 schools, 72 kindergartens, and 18 medical institutions without service. Now it had been hit again. Klitschko said that "several energy facilities" across Kyiv had been struck in Tuesday's attack, though he provided no further details. Officials declared a red alert and urged residents to remain in shelters due to ongoing missile threats.

The timing was also significant for another reason. Zelensky was preparing to meet UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham at Downing Street on Wednesday to discuss accelerating air defense supplies to Kyiv. The strikes, coming just hours before that meeting, underscored the urgency of the conversation. In his statement, Zelensky appealed directly to the international community: "It is important that the world does not stay silent about this. And it is important that the United States really see what is happening and who is responsible for this war continuing." The message was clear—whatever ceasefire had been announced, whatever intelligence was or wasn't being shared, the missiles kept falling on Kyiv's power plants and apartment buildings, and Ukraine needed the West to see it and act.