Russian missiles and drones struck energy infrastructure around Kyiv overnight, threatening the capital’s electricity, water and heating supplies as temperatures were expected to fall toward zero, Ukrainian officials said.
The barrage came just three days before Russia and Ukraine are scheduled to join US-brokered peace talks. Explosions echoed across Kyiv as Moscow launched waves of ballistic missiles, several of which struck and damaged the Northern Bridge over the Dnipro River, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Energy facilities outside the capital also suffered major damage, including systems that transmit electricity from two nuclear power plants to Kyiv and central Ukraine, the energy ministry said. At least two people were killed and about a dozen wounded in attacks across the country.
“The capital is facing serious difficulties with its electricity, water, and heat supplies,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X. He added that substations in five other regions had also been hit.
“Russia is preparing for trilateral talks by launching ballistic missiles at Ukraine’s critical infrastructure,” Mr Zelensky said.
The strikes came after recent US midterm elections raised hopes in Ukraine that a Democratic-controlled Congress could provide stronger backing for its defence against Russia.
“We are counting on the US Congress to give more attention to Ukraine, because Russia keeps increasing the number of its attacks,” Mr Zelensky added.
Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had hit targets in Ukraine’s military-industrial sector, along with energy and transport infrastructure in and around Kyiv.
Russian authorities said Ukraine had also launched drone and missile attacks against several Russian regions. They reported minor damage but no casualties.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said ‘Several missiles hit the Northern Bridge’, damaging its road surface
Two dead, dozens wounded across Ukraine
Overnight strikes killed at least two people and wounded around a dozen others across Ukraine, officials said. Homes, businesses and other non-residential buildings were also damaged.
Russia’s defence ministry described the operation as a massive strike against Ukraine’s military-industrial sector, as well as energy and transport facilities in and around the capital.
Moscow has intensified its aerial campaign as its ground offensive has largely stalled, repeatedly targeting energy systems in Ukraine’s major cities with missiles and drones that are difficult to intercept more than 4-1/2 years into the full-scale invasion.
In recent weeks, Russia has widened its attacks to include Kyiv’s bridges, disrupting travel through the city of more than 3 million residents.
Ukrainian and Russian officials are expected to attend three-way talks in Abu Dhabi from Tuesday to Wednesday as part of a US-backed peace effort that has so far produced limited progress.
Russia’s delegation for the first trilateral talks since February will include senior military officials and diplomats, among them Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s Interfax news agency.
The delegation, led by Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky, will also include Yuri Zhigarlovsky, a senior General Staff officer, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin and military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov, the report said.
The latest attacks also followed US midterm elections that have fuelled hopes in Ukraine for increased American support from a Democratic-controlled Congress.
“We are counting on the US Congress to give more attention to Ukraine, because Russia keeps increasing the number of its attacks,” Mr Zelensky added.
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Zelensky says more ‘personnel changes’ to come at SBU after corruption scandal
President Zelensky said today that further “personnel decisions” would be made at Ukraine’s SBU domestic security service after recent dismissals linked to a corruption scandal that had provoked public anger.
In his evening address, Mr Zelensky described findings by anti-corruption police — who said senior security and law enforcement officials had protected a criminal network — as “frankly shameful, absolutely unacceptable”.
“There have already been dismissals in the Security Service of Ukraine because of this, and there will be other personnel decisions,” he said.
