Late Tuesday night into early Wednesday, Ukraine was hit by a massive barrage of missiles, drones and airstrikes that left much of the country in darkness — just as plans for a high-profile summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin were officially put on hold. The twin developments cast a shadow over hopes for diplomacy even as Kyiv braces for a long, cold winter.

According to Ukrainian officials, the overnight assault killed at least six people — including two children — in the capital Kyiv and surrounding regions.
Reuters
+2
The Guardian
+2
Energy infrastructure bore the brunt: substations and transmission lines were struck across the country, triggering emergency power cuts in most regions.
Pravda
+2
Reuters
+2
The violence arrived just as the White House announced there would be “no immediate” meeting between Trump and Putin, effectively shelving the summit once envisioned in Budapest.
Financial Times

Strikes and outages hit hard
In Kyiv itself, fire services reported rescues from a blaze in a high-rise after missile fragments rained down in the Dniprovskyi district.
Reuters
In the northern region of Chernihiv, at least four people were killed and hundreds of thousands of residents lost both power and water following the overnight attack.
Reuters
+1
The Ukrainian energy ministry confirmed that “emergency power cuts” were activated across most regions as a defensive measure to protect the grid.
Pravda
+1

Russia’s pattern of targeting Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure — especially as winter looms — appears to be escalating. The Kremlin claims such sites are legitimate military targets; Kyiv and its Western backers call the tactic a form of warfare aimed at civilian morale and survival.
Reuters
+1

Diplomacy derailed
Simultaneously, U.S. officials confirmed that the much-anticipated Trump-Putin summit has been postponed indefinitely. The White House declared there are “no plans for President Trump to meet President Putin in the immediate future.”
Financial Times
+1
The cancellation came amid Moscow’s refusal to accept a ceasefire on current battle-lines, and U.S. concerns that a meeting now would amount to little more than optics.
AP News
+1

In the wake of the attack, President Zelensky of Ukraine accused Russia of deliberately undermining diplomacy with force. “As soon as the issue of long-range capabilities for us … became less immediate, Russia’s interest in diplomacy faded almost automatically.”
The Washington Post

Wider implications
The dual blow of escalating attacks and stalled diplomacy raises serious questions about the war’s trajectory and the global peace mechanisms meant to manage it.

First, the power cuts signal Ukraine may face a harsh winter in more than name-only. With infrastructure damaged and blackouts stretching across multiple regions, the humanitarian toll looms large — especially in areas already close to the front lines.

Second, the postponement of the summit underscores the diplomatic deadlock. If Moscow will not engage meaningfully in talks unless its core demands are met, then traditional channels of negotiation may no longer be sufficient. The summit’s shelving hints at both U.S. frustration and recognition that the situation may not yet be ripe for meaningful progress.

Third, the timing matters. Russia’s surge in attacks — coinciding with the postponement of the summit — suggests its willingness to ratchet up pressure rather than step back. This could complicate Ukraine’s defence strategy, increase reliance on Western military support, and deepen divisions among allies over how to respond.

Conclusion
The explosion of violence in Ukraine overnight and the abrupt cancelation of the Trump-Putin summit together paint a bleak picture: a war that is intensifying even as diplomacy stalls. For Ukraine, the stakes are growing — both in terms of human suffering and strategic vulnerability. For the international community, the message is clear: the window for peace may be closing unless new diplomatic, military or economic levers are brought into play. Until then, the blackouts will continue — both of lights in Ukraine and of high-level talks that once promised a way out.