Russia has launched its largest assault on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since the spring, with Kyiv and the surrounding region bearing the brunt of a wave of overnight strikes, Ukrainian officials said.
At least six people were killed and 33 others injured across the country, including a child in the Kyiv region, according to local authorities.
The attacks affected electricity supplies in several regions. Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said it had restored power to about 8,000 homes in Kyiv following what it described as a difficult night.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said the Trypilska power station, a major electricity supplier to Kyiv, was among its targets. Ukrainian officials have not confirmed that claim.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi said the scale of the combined attack was unprecedented since the end of the previous heating season.
“Since the summer, there has effectively not been a single day without enemy attacks on our energy infrastructure,” he said.
According to Koretskyi, 11 regions were targeted overnight, with residential buildings, social infrastructure, civilian businesses and railway facilities also hit.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said critical infrastructure came under attack in the Zhytomyr, Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad and Rivne regions.
Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said some households in the Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Sumy, Kyiv and Kharkiv regions were still without electricity on Wednesday.
The state-owned grid operator Ukrenergo urged residents to avoid using high-power electrical appliances between 10:00 and 16:00 local time because electricity supplies were below normal levels.
Heavy smoke over Kyiv
Kyiv was covered by thick, acrid smoke on Wednesday morning after the overnight strikes. Air-raid alerts remained in effect in parts of the city as explosions and air-defence activity were reported.
Residents in several districts were advised to keep their windows closed until the smoke cleared.
Kyiv regional governor Timur Tkachenko said a child was among those killed after the body was recovered from the rubble of a house.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said three people had been killed in the capital, including a utility company worker at a warehouse. It was not immediately clear whether the figure included the child reported by the regional governor.
Two people were killed in the northeastern Sumy region, according to Governor Oleh Hryhorov, while another person was killed in the Mykolaiv region, acting regional governor Heorhiy Reshetilov said.
Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022. Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.
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