Ukraine braced for a dark winter and got a stark preview overnight, as Russia launched a long-anticipated air campaign against the country’s energy grid, pounding power facilities and related infrastructure around Kyiv and across multiple regions in the most extensive combined assault on energy sites in months.
Ukrainian officials said seven people were killed in the strikes, which came after days of intensifying drone barrages focused largely on the capital. Many Ukrainians have viewed those attacks as a prelude to a winter push designed to leave cities cold and without electricity at a time when Ukraine is short of air defences.
“Russia has escalated to massive strikes on energy infrastructure,” Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi said on X after the attacks overnight.
“Since summer, there’s barely been a day without an attack on our energy infrastructure. But a combined strike of this scale hasn’t happened since the end of last heating season.”
Last winter’s Russian strikes, carried out as record-low temperatures were recorded, battered power and heating networks and forced people across Ukraine to adapt to harsh, disrupted daily life.
Ukrainian capital in focus
In Kyiv, residents awoke to thick fog laced with smoke from the overnight bombardment. Authorities said a key power plant and other energy facilities around the capital were damaged.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia made energy infrastructure in Kyiv and the surrounding area the main focus of an onslaught involving nearly 190 drones and ballistic missiles. Ukraine’s air force said it shot down five missiles and 155 drones.
Among the seven fatalities nationwide was a child, Mr Zelensky said. He reported that critical infrastructure was hit in five regions, with additional damage recorded in another five regions.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Russia said its forces struck power plants in the Kyiv region, an industrial complex in Odesa region, and port infrastructure in Ismail in the southwest.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said debris was found at a Western embassy, without providing further details. The overnight attack also set off an air-raid alert lasting more than 12 hours.
For Kyiv residents, near-constant daytime sirens and explosions have become part of daily life. Over the past week alone, drone attacks have killed around a dozen people in the capital, underscoring the escalating pressure on the city.
Winter approaching
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the latest strikes were a “deliberate” attempt by Russia to divert attention from its grinding offensive in eastern Ukraine, which he said has slowed since last year.
“Moscow is increasing the pressure on Ukrainian civilians as winter approaches, trying once again to turn cold, darkness, and disruption of normal life into weapons,” he said on X.
Five missiles and 155 drones were intercepted by Ukraine’s air defenecs
Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, denies targeting civilians, although it has repeatedly pounded cities and towns across Ukraine.
Mr Koretskyi said he ordered local authorities to review the readiness of backup power systems at critical sites and to speed up installations where needed.
In recent weeks and months, authorities have been building protective facilities and working to diversify energy generation ahead of the winter, anticipating renewed attacks on the power system.
Ukraine’s state weather forecasters said freezing night-time temperatures were expected in Kyiv in the coming days.
Ukraine is expecting another winter assault on power and heating facilities
Drone explodes in Moldova
Across the border in Moldova, police said a drone entered Moldovan airspace and exploded near the eastern village of Hirbovet.
NATO members Romania and Poland said they scrambled military jets, and flights at Poland’s Lublin and Rzeszow airports were temporarily suspended.
Ukraine has also intensified strikes on Russia, targeting oil refineries and major online retailers as part of efforts to weaken Moscow’s ability to sustain the war.
In Russia’s Bryanskregion, which borders Ukraine, one person was killed in drone attacks, the regional governor said.
