Russia launched a large-scale overnight assault on Ukraine on Saturday, targeting energy infrastructure and residential areas with a wave of drones and missiles that left at least three people dead and dozens injured. Ukrainian officials said the strikes caused significant damage to energy facilities across the Kyiv, Poltava, and Kharkiv regions.
According to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Russia unleashed more than 450 drones and 45 missiles during the attacks. In Dnipro, a drone struck an apartment building, killing two people and injuring at least twelve others. Another person was killed in the Kharkiv region, local authorities confirmed.
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said energy facilities suffered serious damage, disrupting electricity, water, and heating supplies. In the central Poltava region, the cities of Kremenchuk and Horishni Plavni were hit particularly hard, losing most of their power and relying on generators to provide essential services.
Zelenskiy condemned the strikes as a deliberate attempt to target civilians ahead of winter, urging Western nations to intensify sanctions against Moscow.
“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,” Zelenskiy said on Telegram.
Since launching its full-scale invasion nearly four years ago, Russia has frequently targeted Ukraine’s energy grid, with nine major gas facility attacks reported by Naftogaz in just the last two months.
Moscow’s Defence Ministry claimed responsibility for what it described as a “massive strike with high-precision long-range weapons,” saying it was retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.
Ukraine’s air force reported shooting down 406 drones and nine missiles, though 26 missiles and 52 drones struck 25 sites across the country.
As the war drags on with little sign of diplomatic progress, Kyiv continues to target Russian oil facilities to undermine Moscow’s war funding. Energy crews are now working to restore power and heating to affected regions before the onset of winter.
