Russia Unleashes Barrage on Ukrainian Cities as Geneva Peace Talks Confirmed

Intensified Attacks Across Ukraine

The Russian Federation has launched a series of extensive missile and drone attacks targeting multiple Ukrainian cities over the past two days, resulting in casualties and significant damage to critical infrastructure. On Thursday, February 12, 2026, Russia fired 24 ballistic missiles, one Kh-59/69 guided air missile, and 219 drones. Ukrainian air defenses reportedly intercepted 213 targets, but at least nine missiles and 19 drones struck 13 locations.

The following day, Friday, February 13, 2026, saw further assaults involving an Iskander-M ballistic missile and 154 attack drones. Ukrainian air defenses managed to intercept 111 drones, but 22 drones and the missile successfully hit 18 locations.

Key cities targeted in these barrages include Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Odesa, along with various settlements in Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk Oblasts.

Widespread Casualties and Infrastructure Damage

The attacks have inflicted a heavy toll on civilian lives and infrastructure. Over the past day alone, at least nine people were killed and 28 injured across Ukraine.

• In Donetsk Oblast, strikes in Kramatorsk killed four people, including an 8-year-old boy, and injured four others. Another person was killed and two injured in Cherkaske, with additional injuries reported in Malotaranivka and Druzhkivka.
• Odesa Oblast reported one fatality and six injuries, three of whom are in critical condition. Russian forces targeted port, residential, industrial, and energy facilities, causing 'extremely serious' damage to a DTEK energy facility.
• A 66-year-old woman was killed in Rozsokhuvate, Kharkiv Oblast, where four others, including an 8-year-old girl, were also injured.
• In Kherson Oblast, one person was killed and four injured across 37 settlements.
• Zaporizhzhia Oblast saw one woman killed and one man injured.
• A 74-year-old man was injured in the Nikopol district of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

Earlier attacks on February 12 left two people injured in Kyiv, with over 107,000 residents without power. Residential buildings were damaged, including a nine-story building hit and the facade of a 16-story building. In Dnipro, four people, including a 4-year-old girl and a newborn boy, were injured, and heat supply was cut off for 10,000 subscribers. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk condemned the attacks, stating they are 'prohibited under international humanitarian law' and are depriving civilians of warmth, water, and electricity during a 'bitter and dark winter'.

Diplomatic Efforts and Ukrainian Counter-Strikes

Amidst the ongoing hostilities, the prospect of peace talks has seen a significant development. While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy initially indicated Russia was 'hesitating' regarding a U.S.-brokered meeting, the Kremlin confirmed on Friday, February 13, that the next round of trilateral peace negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States will take place in Geneva on February 17-18. Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky is set to lead Moscow's delegation. This follows two previous rounds of U.S.-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi in January and early February, which facilitated a prisoner exchange but yielded no major breakthroughs on core issues.

Concurrently, Ukraine has continued its counter-strikes, including long-range drone attacks on Russian territory. A Ukrainian drone reportedly hit the Ukhta oil refinery in Russia's Komi region, approximately 1,750 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, marking its farthest drone strike to date. Ukrainian forces also claimed to have struck a major missile and ammunition storage site in the Volgograd region and damaged the Michurinsk Progress Plant in the Tambov region.