Russian attack targets Ukraine energy infrastructure after Miami peace talks

KYIV, Dec 23 - Russia attacked Kyiv and Ukraine’s energy infrastructure early on Tuesday, triggering emergency outages and prompting NATO member Poland to scramble jets to protect its airspace, two days after U.S.-led Miami peace talks ended.

The weekend peace talks in Miami brought together U.S. officials with Ukrainian and European delegations, alongside separate contacts with Russian representatives, as Washington tested whether there was scope for a settlement to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

As of 0620 GMT, air raid alerts covered nearly all of Ukraine, according to the country’s air force. Debris fell near a residential building in Kyiv’s Sviatoshynskyi district, damaging windows, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukraine’s energy ministry said emergency power outages were introduced in a number of regions, including Kyiv and the surrounding region, after Russia again attacked energy facilities.

Russia has repeatedly hit Ukraine’s power grid and energy facilities during the nearly four-year war, intensifying strikes in winter to disrupt electricity and heating, strain logistics and the economy, and increase pressure on Kyiv.

Poland, a NATO member bordering western Ukraine, said Polish and allied aircraft were deployed to protect Polish airspace after Russian strikes targeted areas of western Ukraine near the border.

"These measures are preventive in nature and are aimed at securing and protecting the airspace,” Poland’s operational command said on X.

Poland scrambles jets during major Russian missile-and-drone barrages on western Ukraine, typically when strikes are assessed to pose a heightened risk near the Polish border. REUTERS