Nearly 300,000 people in Ukrainian city of Odesa without power or water after Russian drone strikes - Europe live

Russian military forces launched a concentrated wave of drone strikes against the port city of Odesa and other regions across Ukraine on Thursday morning, February 12, leaving approximately 300,000 residents without access to electricity or water. The assault was part of a broader, nationwide campaign by Moscow specifically targeting Ukraine's critical energy infrastructure as winter conditions continue to strain the power grid. Local officials reported that the strikes caused significant damage to substations and distribution networks, forcing emergency blackouts and the suspension of essential municipal services in the impacted areas. The humanitarian situation in Odesa has deteriorated rapidly as utility companies struggle to assess the extent of the damage amid ongoing air raid alerts. Engineering crews have been deployed to the hit sites, but restoration efforts are being hampered by the scale of the destruction and the threat of follow-up attacks. This latest escalation underscores Russia's strategic focus on degrading the civilian energy sector to break domestic resilience, a tactic that has remained a centerpiece of their military strategy throughout the protracted conflict. While Odesa grapples with the fallout of the strikes, the geopolitical focus shifted westward to Belgium, where European Union leaders convened at Alden Biesen castle for a high-stakes economic summit. The gathering aims to address the long-term industrial consequences of the war, including energy security and the continent's economic revival. The contrast between the physical destruction in Ukraine and the diplomatic negotiations in the Belgian countryside highlights the deepening divide between the immediate crisis of the war zone and the broader European efforts to secure a stable and autonomous economic future.