Ukraine-Russia conflict newest: Zelensky guidelines out referendum on ‘bad deal’ as European leaders collect in Munich

Russia battered Ukraine’s energy system again into Thursday morning leaving tens of thousands in the capital Kyiv and the cities of Dnipro and Odesa without heat, power and water, officials said.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 24 ballistic missiles, one cruise missile and 219 drones overnight on Thursday. Air defences downed or neutralised 16 missiles and 197 drones, it said.

Two people were hurt in the attack on Kyiv, which also hit a residential building, an official said.

In the industrial southeastern city of Dnipro, a combined missile and drone strike wounded four people, including a baby boy and a four-year-old girl, regional governor Oleksandr Ganzha said on Telegram.

Four people were injured in an overnight Russian attack that struck energy facilities and other critical infrastructure in Odesa, Kyiv Independent reported, citing regional officials.

Governor Oleh Kiper said Russian forces launched a large-scale drone assault on the region.

“The enemy continues to massively attack the Odesa region with strike drones. Despite the active work of air defence forces, direct hits and falling drone debris were recorded,” he said.

One of the injured was hospitalised in serious condition. Residential buildings, industrial sites, energy facilities and port infrastructure were damaged in the strikes, officials said.

The attack also disrupted electricity, heating and water supplies. Restoration work is ongoing.

The assault followed another wave of strikes a day earlier, when Russian forces targeted Odesa and other major cities including Kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv with drones and missiles aimed at Ukraine’s energy sector. Power generation facilities and substations were hit in Kyiv, Odesa and Dnipro.

Moscow has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s critical infrastructure through the autumn and winter months, leaving thousands without electricity and heating during freezing temperatures.

Russia has moved to “fully block” Meta-owned WhatsApp, according to a company spokesperson, as Moscow intensifies its efforts to promote domestic platforms and tighten its grip on the nation’s internet.

This action comes amid a deepening dispute with foreign technology providers, which escalated following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Authorities in Moscow are actively promoting a state-backed alternative messaging service named ‘MAX’. Critics have voiced concerns that this app could be utilised for user tracking, although these allegations have been dismissed as false by state media.

“Due to Meta’s unwillingness to comply with Russian law, such a decision was indeed made and implemented,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, proposing that Russians switch to MAX, Russia’s state-owned messenger.

“MAX is an accessible alternative, a developing messenger, a national messenger, and it is available on the market for citizens as an alternative,” said Peskov.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv would not put a “bad deal” to a referendum and would only hold a vote once firm security guarantees and a ceasefire were in place.

In an interview published by The Atlantic, Zelensky said Ukraine was ready for both presidential elections and a referendum on any peace agreement, but set clear conditions for when that could happen.

“The tactic we chose is for the Americans not to think that we want to continue the war,” Zelensky said. “That’s why we started supporting their proposals in any format that speeds things along.”

He added that Ukraine was “not afraid of anything”.

“Are we ready for elections? We’re ready. Are we ready for a referendum? We’re ready,” he said.

Zelensky said he had rejected a proposal, reported this week by the Financial Times, to announce elections and a referendum on February 24 – the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

He said a ceasefire and proposed US security guarantees against a future invasion had not yet been finalised.

“No one is clinging to power,” Zelensky was quoted as saying. “I am ready for elections. But for that we need security, guarantees of security, a ceasefire.”

He added: “I don’t think we should put a bad deal up for a referendum.”

Zelensky has said in recent weeks that a document outlining security guarantees for Ukraine is almost ready to be signed.

But in his latest remarks, he acknowledged that key details remain unresolved, including whether the United States would be willing to shoot down incoming missiles over Ukraine if Russia were to violate any peace agreement.

“This hasn’t been fixed yet,” Zelensky said. “We have raised it, and we will continue to raise these questions. We need all of this to be written out.”

US secretary of state Marco ⁠Rubio said on Thursday ⁠he ​would ⁠have a chance ⁠to ​meet Ukrainian president ⁠Volodymyr ‌Zelensky at this week’s ‌Munich Security Conference. Rubio ‌made the comment ⁠to reporters before his departure from Washington to the conference.

The Kremlin said on Thursday that it expected the next round of peace talks on Ukraine to happen soon and that there was already an understanding about their timing and location.

Three sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters that US officials have proposed a trilateral meeting on Monday and Tuesday in Miami.

“We have a certain understanding (of the details), and we will keep you informed,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“We expect the next (third) round of talks to take place soon.”

Ukraine’s major private energy company DTEK said on Thursday that Russia attacked its thermal power plant overnight, causing significant damage to the plant’s equipment.

“This is the eleventh massive attack on the company’s thermal power plants since October 2025,” DTEK said on the Telegram messenger, giving no more details.