KYIV, Ukraine (BN24) — At least six people were killed and dozens wounded after Russia launched a massive overnight barrage of missiles and drones on energy infrastructure and residential buildings across Ukraine, officials said Saturday.
The strikes among the heaviest in recent weeks targeted 25 locations nationwide, including Kyiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, and other key urban centers. Large parts of the country were left without electricity and heating, deepening fears of another difficult winter as the war enters its fourth year.
In Dnipro, a strike on an apartment complex killed two people and injured 12, regional authorities said. In Zaporizhzhia, three people were confirmed dead. Officials also reported widespread damage to critical infrastructure in Poltava, Kharkiv, and Kyiv regions, with repair teams racing to restore power supplies.
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on Telegram that several major energy facilities had been hit but that work was “underway around the clock” to reconnect the grid. “Critical infrastructure facilities have already been reconnected, and water supply is being maintained using generators,” she said.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia launched more than 450 bomber drones and 45 missiles during the overnight assault. Ukrainian defenders shot down nine missiles and 406 drones, though several projectiles breached air defenses and caused significant destruction.
The Ukrainian Energy Ministry said emergency power cuts were in effect across Dnipropetrovsk, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, and Kirovohrad regions. Engineers were working to restore electricity amid frigid conditions.
In Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had intercepted 79 Ukrainian drones overnight, continuing a pattern of tit-for-tat strikes between the two nations’ militaries. Russia maintains that its attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid are intended to weaken the country’s military supply lines.
However, Kyiv officials accused Moscow of deliberately targeting civilians and seeking to cripple Ukraine’s economy by destroying its energy network ahead of winter. “These attacks are not just about destroying power stations they are about breaking the will of the Ukrainian people,” said one government source.
President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the overnight barrage, urging Western governments to tighten sanctions on Russian energy exports. “Pressure must be intensified,” Zelensky said in a Telegram post. “For every Moscow strike on energy infrastructure — aimed at harming ordinary people before winter there must be a sanctions response targeting all Russian energy, with no exceptions.”
The attacks came only hours after the United States granted Hungary a one-year exemption from restrictions on importing Russian oil and gas, a move that raised concerns in Kyiv. The exemption was announced during a Washington visit by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a close ally of former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Analysts say the timing of Russia’s latest wave of strikes may have been calculated to coincide with diplomatic developments surrounding Western sanctions. “If Russia can continue selling its oil to Hungary and other countries, it can use that revenue to build more drones and missiles the same weapons being used against Ukraine,” said one European energy expert.
This winter marks a pivotal test of Ukraine’s ability to withstand sustained energy attacks and maintain civilian morale. With much of the country already enduring blackouts, officials fear that Russia’s campaign could intensify as temperatures drop.
