More than a million homes in Ukraine were left in the dark after another massive wave of Russian airstrikes hit the country’s energy facilities. Ukrainian officials say this was the 11th time this year that Russia has launched a large-scale attack on the nation’s power grid—a tactic that has led to ongoing blackouts across the country. And as Ukraine braces for its third winter since the war began, these attacks are becoming more frequent.
Russian President Vladimir Putin justified the assault, saying it was a response to Ukraine’s use of US-supplied ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory. “We will always respond,” Putin said during a security meeting in Kazakhstan.
Ukraine’s Energy Minister German Halushchenko described the overnight strikes as a “massive enemy attack,” with regions across the country feeling the impact. Emergency power cuts were put in place in some areas, especially in western Ukraine, where places like Lviv, Volyn, and Rivne experienced widespread outages. As of now, energy providers have returned to scheduled power cuts, but the situation remains tense.
The human toll is also mounting. At least five people were injured in different regions: one in Vinnytsia, two in Odesa, and two in Kyiv. In Kharkiv, a missile hit a civilian business, adding to the chaos. Meanwhile, residents of Kyiv spent hours sheltering in metro stations as air raid sirens blared for more than nine hours.
“I heard three loud booms this morning,” said Valeriy Dorotiy, a resident of Lutsk in western Ukraine. “Then the power went out. I never thought the missiles would reach us, but now I wish I had bought a backup power station.”
In Volyn, nearly a quarter of a million households lost electricity, though power was eventually restored in some areas. Elsewhere, like in Ivano-Frankivsk, locals braced for longer outages. “We expected a three-hour blackout, but now it looks like it’ll last eight hours,” said Roman Turiy, a resident. “Each winter seems harder than the last.”
The scale of the attack was massive, with around 100 drones and more than 90 missiles launched, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He emphasized the urgent need for more air defense systems, saying, “These systems save lives here in Ukraine, not sitting idle in storage elsewhere.”
This wasn’t an isolated incident either. Just two days earlier, Russia had launched its largest drone attack yet—sending 188 drones to pound Ukraine’s infrastructure in the west.
For people like Kyiv resident Olha Vaynrikh, the strain is taking its toll. “Every morning starts with checking if there’s an air alert,” she said. “We’re so tired of all this.”
As winter closes in, the stakes are rising for Ukraine. For millions of its people, life has become a constant cycle of explosions, sirens, and cold, dark nights.
