In the latest mass attack targeting the energy system as winter approaches, electricity was interrupted in nine regions and over a million households and businesses were temporarily without power across the country.
In southeastern Ukraine, a seven-year-old was killed when his home was hit and at least 20 people were injured. In Kyiv, an apartment block in the city centre was damaged by a projectile, while on the left bank of the Dnipro that divides the capital, crowds waited at bus stops with the metro out of action and people filled water bottles at distribution points.
Ukrainians are bracing for a tough winter, as the full-scale war nears its fourth anniversary. Russia has intensified attacks on the energy system in recent weeks, striking power plants and gas production facilities, and local authorities are struggling with the scale of repairs required.
“They can’t demonstrate anything real on the battlefield… so they will attack our energy sector,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told reporters in Kyiv. Calling for more support from allies, he said that Ukraine’s 203 main energy facilities needed air-defence protection.
“The blow is strong, but it is definitely not fatal,” Zelenskiy told reporters in Kyiv, as Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk met G7 ambassadors and representatives from some of Ukraine’s biggest energy companies to discuss how allies could help protect Ukrainian from such attacks and repair the damage.
Ukraine’s air force said it had downed 405 of 465 drones and 15 of 32 missiles in this attack. According to Zelenskiy, Russia deliberately waited for bad weather to attack, and the inclement conditions reduced the efficiency of Ukraine’s air defences by between 20% and 30%.
Russia said its overnight strikes were in response to Ukraine’s attacks on Russian civilian facilities. Ukraine regularly launches drone strikes against Russia’s military and oil installations, although they are generally on a far smaller scale. Kyiv says it wants to force Moscow to negotiate a peace deal.