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Strikes on energy and civilians, 17 February 2026
Summary
A look back at a day of Russian drone and missile attacks in Donetsk and Sumy oblasts, after Ukrainian strikes on Russian power stations two days earlier.
What did the war look like on 17 February 2026? Reports from that day pointed to Russian strikes on both energy workers and residential areas in eastern and north-eastern Ukraine.
In Mykolaivka, Donetsk Oblast, a Russian drone hit a vehicle and killed three engineers from the Sloviansk Thermal Power Plant. Another engineer was injured. The attack was reported as part of Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure in the Eastern Ukraine campaign.
The same day, large-scale Russian strikes hit Sumy Oblast. At least six people were injured, and buildings and vehicles were damaged.
The energy backdrop
Two days earlier, on 15 February 2026, authorities in several Russian oblasts, including Belgorod and Bryansk, reported widespread power outages. These followed a large-scale Ukrainian missile and drone attack on Russian power stations. Bryansk Oblast governor Alexander Bogomaz confirmed that the city of Bryansk had lost most of its electricity and heat supply.
Taken together, the reports from 15 and 17 February show energy infrastructure and the people who work on it affected on both sides of the front line during the same days.
