War

Kallas: 'Working on EU plan for peace in Ukraine'. Odessa, 95,000 citizens without electricity

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that negotiations for a solution to the conflict in Ukraine continue and that the path remains long

10 February 2026

Lavoratori comunali ispezionano i danni causati da un attacco russo a Odessa, nell'Ucraina sud-occidentale, il 9 febbraio 2026, durante l'invasione russa. Secondo il Servizio di emergenza statale dell'Ucraina, almeno una persona è rimasta uccisa e altre due sono rimaste ferite dopo che un drone ha colpito una zona residenziale, danneggiando un grattacielo e un gasdotto. EPA/IGOR MASLOV

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

A Russian attack against an electricity plant in the Odessa region caused a blackout in the area. According to Odessa Oblast Governor Oleg Kiper, 'Tonight, the enemy struck another cynical blow to the energy infrastructure in the Odessa region. In the south of the region, damage was reported to an energy plant and a fire broke out. An administrative building was also damaged'. No casualties were reported, warns the Ukrainian administration. Overall, the Russian raid caused the interruption of electricity supplies for at least 95,000 people in 42 settlements. The most critical situation is in Kiliia: more than 200 buildings, in which about 9,000 people live, are without gas and central heating. Heating is only possible by electricity; in the event of a blackout, thousands of homes are left in the cold, reports the Ukrainian Interfax news agency.

To protect its energy infrastructure from Russian attacks in the long term, Ukraine is meanwhile moving its substations underground. So far it has installed one substation in an underground concrete bunker, while a second is under construction, Vitaliy Zaichenko, CEO of Ukrenergo, the Ukrainian state electricity grid operator, told the Kyiv Independent. But it is not a quick solution to Ukraine's ongoing energy crisis. The project costs tens of millions of dollars per substation and Kiev cannot afford to cover Ukrenergo's nearly 100 key substations alone. 'Moving substations underground can be one of the key elements for future energy security and resilience. But it will take years and millions of euros,' Oleksandr Kharchenko, CEO of the Kyiv Energy Industry Research Centre, told the Kyiv Independent. Ukrainian substations are vulnerable to Russian attacks. By destroying substation equipment, Russia interrupts the flow of electricity from power plants to homes and businesses, causing power outages across the country.

Russian raids in the Zaporizhzhia area

Russian forces also attacked the city of Vilniansk in the Zaporizhzhia region with drones, injuring four people. This was reported on Telegram by the head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration Ivan Fedorov, quoted by Ukrinform. "The Russians attacked Vilniansk with drones. Private houses and outbuildings were damaged. Two women, a man and a child not even two years old were injured,' he explained. All the injured are currently receiving medical attention.

In the Sumy, Kharkiv and Poltava regions, the electricity supply situation is currently most critical, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said today, at the end of the now customary meeting on the energy crisis in Ukraine, following the attacks promoted by Moscow.

According to the New York Times, Russia is close to conquering three strategic cities in eastern Ukraine. The locations in question are Huliaipole in the south-east and the cities of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad. Any success, it is explained, would give Russia an urban foothold in which to base troops and organise logistics for future offensives, as well as new leverage in US-mediated peace talks.

The negotiations continue

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said thatnegotiations for a solution to the conflict in Ukraine continue and that the path remains long.In an interview with broadcaster NTV, Lavrov said that "we have already said several times that we should not allow ourselves to go into an enthusiastic perception of what is happening, i.e. that US President Donald Trump has 'brought the Europeans and Volodymyr Zelensky into line' by demanding that they obey". The Russian diplomacy chief added that 'it is good if we want to get to peace in Ukraine, but we are not there yet. The negotiations continue, the second round was held in Abu Dhabi and there is still a long way to go'. Russia expects a new round of negotiations on Ukraine to take place soon, but at the moment there are no concrete dates, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, answering journalists' questions. "There are no concrete dates yet, but we continue to trust that this will happen soon, Peskov said. The second and so far final round of talks between delegations of Russia, the US and Ukraine took place on 4-5 February in Abu Dhabi, Peskov described them as 'constructive but at the same time very complex'.

Tests of Russia-France Dialogue

After years of jealousy and hostility overthe aggression against Ukraine, Russia and France may be talking again. The Kremlin spokesman confirmed that there were "contacts" to start a dialogue between Moscow and Paris. "Indeed, contacts have been there, we can confirm this, and this, if desired and necessary, will help to quickly establish a dialogue at the highest level," the spokesman said, quoted by the Ria Novosti news agency. Last week Reuters had written that French President Emmanuel Macron had sent his adviser Emmanuel Bonne to Moscow. Peskov, quoted by Interfax, stressed that 'so far there have been no such initiatives' from other European capitals.

Kallas, 'working on a European plan for peace in Ukraine'

As for Ukraine's future, the EU is preparing an unprecedented five-point plan that could grant Ukraine a form of partial membership as early as next year in an attempt to strengthen Kiev's position in Europe and distance it from Moscow. Confirming this line are the words of EU High Representative Kaja Kallas, who in an interview with Ansa and other international agencies explained that the European Union must shift its focus from pressuring Ukraine to make concessions to "demanding concessions" from Russia in order to achieve "sustainable peace". Hence the idea of a 'European plan for sustainable peace' outlining specific demands on Russia. In the coming days Kallas will send proposals to the member states to start the conversation: 'Before we discuss who should talk to Moscow, we need to understand what we want to talk about'.

L'Alto rappresentante dell'Unione europea per gli affari esteri e la politica di sicurezza e vicepresidente della Commissione europea Kaja Kallas interviene durante una conferenza stampa congiunta con il ministro della Difesa tedesco Boris Pistorius (non presente nella foto) a Berlino, Germania, il 13 gennaio 2026. REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen/Foto d'archivio

Four years after the full-scale Russian invasion and with Kiev demanding that EU membership in 2027 be included in a possible peace agreement with the Kremlin, the idea of early partial membership represents a radical change in the way the bloc welcomes new members. The plan envisages Ukraine being able to sit at the European table before completing all the reforms necessary to obtain full membership rights.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasised the urgency of the European path, stating that Russia is likely to try to 'stop our movement towards the EU' and asking for a precise date for accession because 'it will be signed by Ukraine, Europe, the US and Russia'.