In a massive overnight assault on Saturday, Russian forces launched a widespread attack across Ukraine, killing at least four people and severely damaging energy infrastructure in multiple regions, Ukrainian authorities reported.
One of the deadliest strikes hit a nine-story apartment building in Dnipro, Ukraine’s fourth-largest city, where a drone strike killed three people and injured 12, including two children. Another casualty was reported in the eastern Kharkiv region. The attack destroyed several apartments between the second and sixth floors and caused a fire, with rescue operations continuing into the morning.
The Russian assault involved 458 drones and 45 missiles, including hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, launched from air, land, and sea platforms. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted most of the incoming attacks, but 25 locations were still struck.
Energy infrastructures in the Kyiv, Poltava, and Kharkiv regions were heavily damaged, forcing emergency power cuts in affected areas. Cities like Kremenchuk and Horishni Plavni lost electricity, water, and heating services temporarily. Naftogaz, Ukraine’s state energy company, reported an employee injured in the strikes on gas production facilities, marking the ninth attack on such infrastructure since early October.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attacks as “very flagrant and largely demonstrative” and called on Western allies for tougher sanctions on Russia’s energy sector. He urged, “For every strike by Moscow on energy infrastructure, there must be a corresponding sanctions response targeting all Russian energy sectors without exceptions.”
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed the strikes targeted Ukrainian military-industrial and energy facilities in retaliation for attacks on civilian sites in Russia, asserting all targets were hit precisely.
As Ukraine braces for its fourth winter amid ongoing conflict, experts warn of looming energy crises worsened by these attacks, with half of the country’s natural gas production temporarily shut down.
