Russia strikes Ukraine energy grid, killing six, including one child

Russia launched a large-scale overnight barrage of drones and missiles against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, killing six people — including a seven-year-old girl — and prompting nationwide power restrictions, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko accused Moscow of waging “systematic energy terror” as winter approaches.

“Its goal is to plunge Ukraine into darkness. Ours is to preserve the light,” she wrote on Telegram, calling for more air defence systems, tougher sanctions, and increased international pressure on Russia.

Authorities said two men were killed in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, while the young girl from central Vinnytsia died in hospital from injuries sustained in the strikes.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that a bomb attack on a thermal power plant in Sloviansk, in eastern Donetsk region, killed two people and wounded several others. In nearby Kramatorsk, prosecutors said Russian shelling on residential areas left one dead and three injured. Both cities are considered likely targets in Moscow’s ongoing push westward through Donetsk.

Russia’s defence ministry said it had targeted facilities belonging to Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, denying attacks on civilians. It described the strikes as retaliation for Kyiv’s assaults on Russian infrastructure.

According to Ukrainian figures, Moscow launched more than 650 drones and 50 missiles overnight. Zelenskyy said most were intercepted, with air defence units downing 592 drones and 31 missiles.

Power restrictions across the country

The attacks damaged multiple energy facilities in central, western, and southeastern regions, forcing Kyiv to impose nationwide limits on electricity for households and businesses. Water and heating supplies were also disrupted in several areas.

Two energy sites were hit in Lviv region, while DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, confirmed its thermal power stations across the country came under attack.

“This attack is a serious setback in our efforts to maintain power through the winter,” said DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko. “Given the intensity of recent assaults, it’s clear Russia aims to completely destroy Ukraine’s energy system.”

Regional officials said six children were among the 17 people injured in Zaporizhzhia, while four more were hurt in Vinnytsia.

In Kyiv, air raid sirens lasted nearly all night, forcing residents to shelter in underground metro stations.

“There’s nothing good in it. We’re doing our best to hide,” said Viktoria, a 39-year-old mother. “When you wake your child in the middle of the night, he cries because he doesn’t understand why this is happening.”

Copied