Russia launched a major wave of attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Wednesday, killing at least seven people and triggering emergency power cuts in Kyiv and three surrounding regions.
The strikes targeted power facilities and other infrastructure in and around the Ukrainian capital as well as several other regions, with Ukrainian officials describing the assault as the heaviest combined attack on energy sites in months.
Ukraine’s state grid operator, Ukrenergo, said it introduced emergency electricity cuts in Kyiv and three neighbouring regions following the attacks.
It was the first time the capital had experienced such measures since spring.
The attacks came after days of intensified Russian drone strikes, with Ukrainian authorities warning that the renewed assault could worsen conditions as winter approaches.
Last winter, Russian attacks damaged electricity and heating infrastructure, forcing residents to cope with severe disruptions.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi said the scale of the latest assault marked a significant escalation against the country’s energy facilities.
“Russia has escalated to massive strikes on energy infrastructure,” Koretskyi said on X.
“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.”
The Ukrainian Air Force said its air defences had intercepted 254 of the 285 Russian drones launched by early Wednesday evening.
It added that 174 of the drones were high-flying, faster models that were more difficult to intercept, while Russia also launched a ballistic missile attack.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said a child was among the seven people killed across Ukraine, while critical infrastructure was hit in five regions.
He said damage was also recorded in five other regions.
Smoke covered parts of Kyiv following the overnight attacks, while authorities reported damage to a key power plant and other energy facilities.
Some trams and trolleybuses stopped operating because of the outages, while the city’s water utility said pressure in the system had fallen.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the assault as a “deliberate” distraction from Russia’s military campaign in eastern Ukraine.
“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.
Koretskyi said he had directed local authorities to inspect backup power systems at critical facilities and accelerate the installation of additional capacity.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities have been strengthening protective infrastructure and diversifying energy sources in preparation for further attacks during the winter.
Russia said its forces had targeted power plants in the Kyiv region, an industrial complex in the Odesa region and port infrastructure in Ismail.
The overnight assault also affected neighbouring Moldova, where the defence ministry said three drones crossed into its airspace.
NATO members Romania and Poland responded by scrambling military aircraft, while flights at Poland’s Lublin and Rzeszow airports were temporarily suspended.
