Ukraine war briefing: Russia pounds power grid with seven killed in biggest energy attack in months

Emergency power cuts imposed in Kyiv for first time since spring after airstrikes across at least 10 regions ahead of winter. What we know on day 1,681

Russia has unleashed a widely anticipated air campaign against Ukraine’s energy grid, hitting power facilities and infrastructure ⁠around Kyiv and other regions in the ⁠heaviest combined attack on energy sites in ​months. The strikes on Wednesday, in which Ukrainian officials said seven people were killed, came after days of intensifying drone barrages primarily on the capital, a prelude to what many Ukrainians expect to be a winter of attacks intended to plunge cities into cold and darkness while Ukraine is short ⁠of air defences. State power grid operator Ukrenergo said it had imposed emergency power cuts as a result of the attack in Kyiv and three surrounding regions – the first time such a measure had been imposed in the capital since the spring.

“Russia has escalated to massive ‌strikes on energy infrastructure,” the prime minister, Sergii Koretskyi, said ‌on X after the overnight attacks. A child was among the seven dead across Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, with critical infrastructure coming under attack in five regions. Further damage was reported in another five regions, the Ukrainian president added. Forecasters say they expect freezing temperatures at night in Kyiv in coming days.

Continue reading...