Russia launched a massive overnight air assault on Ukraine’s energy network, striking electricity generation and distribution facilities with more than 400 drones and about 40 missiles, Ukrainian officials said Thursday.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the barrage targeted the grid, generation sites and distribution substations across the country, as winter temperatures begin to plunge. “Every day, Russia could choose real diplomacy, but it chooses new strikes,” he posted on X.
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Moscow did not immediately comment on the attacks.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said two thermal power stations in western Ukraine and key elements of the electricity distribution system — including substations and major power lines — were hit. Regional officials reported strikes in the western regions of Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv. The Burshtyn and Dobrotvir thermal plants were among the facilities damaged, they said.
Emergency power cuts were introduced nationwide, and Kyiv sought emergency electricity imports from Poland to stabilize the grid, according to Shmyhal. He said energy crews were prepared to begin repairs once conditions allowed.
The assault landed as forecasters warned of a sharp cold snap, with temperatures expected to fall to minus 14 C in the coming days — a strain multiplier for a grid already degraded by nearly four years of war and repeated strikes.
Since autumn 2025, Russia has intensified attacks on power generation and transmission infrastructure, triggering rolling blackouts and leaving millions without electricity for hours at a time. DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, said equipment at several of its thermal plants sustained “significant” damage and described the overnight barrage as the 10th attack on its thermal stations since October 2025.
In Lviv, near the Polish border, regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi said air raid sirens lasted more than six hours and warned that, with energy sites struck across multiple regions, outages could persist for longer than in previous waves.
Polish authorities temporarily suspended operations at two airports in the country’s southeast as a precaution due to the strikes on nearby Ukrainian territory. Both airports later resumed normal activity.
The latest attack came days after a round of U.S.-brokered talks between Ukraine and Russia on ending the war, which have so far produced no tangible results despite pressure from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukraine’s energy system has borne the brunt of long-range strikes throughout the conflict, a campaign that has compounded wartime damage and left utilities racing to patch holes under fire. The combination of repeated hits, aging infrastructure and freezing weather has made blackouts more frequent and longer-lasting, particularly during peak demand.
As rescue and repair teams fanned out to assess damage, officials urged residents to conserve electricity, brace for extended outages and heed air raid alerts.
In a separate development, Russian authorities accused Ukraine of orchestrating the shooting of a top military intelligence general in Moscow on Wednesday, leaving him wounded. Kyiv did not comment on the allegation.
There were no immediate reports of casualties from the overnight strikes. Details about the types of missiles and drones used were not disclosed by officials, who emphasized the scale of the attack and its focus on energy infrastructure.
“Wherever the security situation allows, rescue and repair operations continue,” Zelensky said, vowing to restore power as quickly as possible.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
