Kyiv — The Russian military has executed the most significant assault on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since the spring, primarily targeting the capital and its surrounding areas, according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi. Overnight strikes resulted in at least six fatalities and injured 33 others nationwide, including a child in the Kyiv region.
The attacks severely disrupted power supplies, with the DTEK group reporting that electricity had been restored to 8,000 homes following what it described as a difficult night for the capital. While Russia’s defense ministry claimed its Trypilska power station—one of Kyiv’s largest electricity suppliers—was a target, Ukrainian officials have not independently confirmed this specific assertion.
“Since the summer, there has effectively not been a single day without enemy attacks on our energy infrastructure,” Prime Minister Koretskyi stated on Telegram. However, he noted that a combined attack of this magnitude has not occurred since the conclusion of the last heating season. Ukraine has anticipated prolonged winter assaults on its grid, a pattern observed annually since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.
Koretskyi reported that a total of 11 regions were struck overnight, with residential buildings, social facilities, civilian enterprises, and railway networks also hit. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed damage to critical infrastructure in the Zhytomyr, Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad, and Rivne regions.
The Ukrainian energy ministry indicated that households in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Sumy, and Kharkiv regions faced ongoing power outages. Ukrenegro, the state-owned grid operator, advised residents to avoid using high-power electrical appliances between 10:00 and 16:00 local time due to reduced supply capacity.
In Kyiv, thick, acrid smoke blanketed the city Wednesday morning, prompting air raid alerts and causing air defense fire to echo through the haze. Residents were urged to keep windows closed until visibility improved. Local officials provided details on the casualties: Kyiv regional governor Timur Tkachenko confirmed the death of a child found under rubble, while Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko reported three dead in the capital, including a utility worker at a warehouse. It remained unclear if the mayor’s figure included the child.
Additional fatalities were reported elsewhere, with two deaths in the Sumy region and one in the Mykolaiv region from a drone strike. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and currently occupies approximately 20% of the country’s territory.
Is anyone else confused why the power station attack isn’t independently confirmed? Usually Kyiv is quick to validate these targets.
Heartbreaking that a child was among the casualties. The winter strikes keep getting worse every year.