At least six people have died after Russia launched hundreds of missile and drone attacks on energy infrastructure and residential targets in Ukraine overnight.
A strike on an apartment building in the city of Dnipro killed two people and wounded 12, while three died in Zaporizhzhia.
In all, 25 locations across Ukraine, including the capital city Kyiv, were hit, leaving many areas without electricity and heating. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko stated that major energy facilities were damaged in the Poltava, Kharkiv, and Kyiv regions, and work was underway to restore power.
In Russia, the defense ministry claimed that its forces had shot down 79 Ukrainian drones overnight. The Ukrainian air force noted that Russia had launched more than 450 exploding bomber drones and 45 missiles, with nine missiles and 406 drones reportedly shot down.
Power cuts have been reported in the Dnipropetrovsk, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhya, Odesa, and Kirovohrad regions, although restoration efforts are ongoing. Ukraine's Energy Ministry indicated that critical infrastructure facilities have already been reconnected, with water supply maintained using generators.
As Russia defends its assaults on energy targets as being military-focused, Ukrainian leadership is concerned that Moscow aims to disrupt not just morale but also to cripple the economy by collapsing Ukraine's energy network ahead of the winter season.
President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that Western sanctions on Russian energy need to be strict and without exceptions, urging the West to ramp up pressure on Russia following these destructive acts.
With winter approaching, Ukraine's capacity to withstand these ongoing assaults will be a critical determinant of its defensive resilience.
