Russian forces unleashed a barrage of attacks on multiple cities overnight, February 8-9, 2026, employing missiles and drones. The southern city of Odesa bore the brunt of a large-scale drone assault, resulting in damage to residential infrastructure and a gas pipeline. Local officials confirmed a fire on a multi-story building's roof and reported car fires in the city. At least one person lost their life in the drone strike. Earlier in the night, Kyiv faced an apparent ballistic missile attack, with explosions heard around 9 p.m. local time. The Kyiv Independent's journalists on the ground confirmed the blasts, which were initially reported around 5:30 p.m. amid a ballistic missile threat. The city's mayor, Vitalii Klitschko, assured residents that air defense systems were intercepting the missiles, urging people to remain in shelters. Power outages occurred in one district, and the attack's impact on the city remained unclear. These renewed attacks are part of Russia's ongoing campaign against Ukraine's energy infrastructure, causing severe damage to the country's energy grid and necessitating prolonged blackouts during freezing temperatures. The situation in Kyiv is particularly dire, with residents receiving only one-and-a-half to two hours of power per day for several days. The Feb. 7 attack, which occurred before another cold snap, further strained the energy system, with temperatures expected to drop to -19 degrees Celsius (-2 degrees Fahrenheit).
