Starmer calls Russian winter strikes on Ukraine deliberate and brutal
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (Photo: House of Commons/Handout via REUTERS)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed the situation in Ukraine in a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump following a large-scale Russian missile attack overnight on Feb. 3, according to the U.K. government’s official website.
During the call, the two leaders condemned Russia’s actions after Moscow launched a combined strike on Ukraine using air- and ground-launched missiles as well as attack drones. Ukraine’s Air Force said 450 of 521 aerial targets were destroyed, but 27 missiles and 31 drones struck targets across 27 населed areas.
Starmer said Russian attacks ordered by Vladimir Putin on critical infrastructure — particularly energy facilities — were especially cynical given the severe winter conditions.
“These strikes came during extreme cold, with temperatures dropping below minus 20 degrees Celsius,” Starmer said. “This is a brutal and deliberate tactic.”
Trump earlier said Putin had honored a short-term “energy ceasefire” agreed for one week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly rejected that assessment, saying any pause lasted only a few days and was broken by the massive overnight attack on Feb. 3.
Zelenskyy also said Ukraine would review its position in talks with partners on a potential peace settlement. He added that Kyiv expects an official U.S. response, noting that the call to halt strikes was Trump’s initiative.
What is known about the Feb. 3 Russian attack
Despite severe frost, Russia launched another large-scale strike on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure overnight on Feb. 3. The attack came in several waves and included ballistic missiles, Shahed drones, and Kh-22 and Kh-101 cruise missiles launched from strategic aircraft.
In Kyiv, damage was reported in the Darnytskyi, Desnianskyi, Dniprovskyi, Pecherskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts. Five people were injured in the capital, and 1,170 apartment buildings were left without heating.
In Kharkiv, authorities made an emergency technical decision to drain heating systems in 820 residential buildings supplied by the city’s largest combined heat and power plant. Local officials said the move was necessary to prevent freezing and permanent damage to the network.
In Dnipro, the combined strike damaged two private homes, a three-story residential building, and a dormitory. In Kyiv Oblast, one man was injured, and several homes and vehicles were damaged.
First Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said Russian forces attacked eight Ukrainian regions. The strikes involved multiple types of ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones, hitting apartment buildings and thermal power facilities — including plants operating solely to provide heating in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro.
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