Russia hits Ukraine's energy grid with over 320 drones and missiles; at least 8 killed
Zelenskyy called it one of Russia's largest attacks on the energy sector, with more than 15 power facilities hit and over a million people briefly left without electricity.
Russia launched one of its biggest aerial assaults on Ukraine's power system overnight into Saturday, firing more than 320 drones along with cruise and ballistic missiles, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He said more than 15 power generation and transmission facilities were struck.
Ukrainian officials said at least eight people were killed and about 60 injured across nine regions in the latest wave of strikes, Reuters and Al Jazeera reported. Deaths were reported in Kharkiv, the frontline city of Kramatorsk, the Dnipropetrovsk region, and the western regions of Volyn and Rivne.
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Blackouts in the west
Ukraine's Energy Ministry said repair crews had restored power to more than one million people who lost supply on Friday. In the north-western Volyn region, about 370,000 households were cut off, and the mayor of Lutsk warned the outage could last at least a day. Zelenskyy named Lutsk, Rivne, Zhytomyr and Vinnytsia among the worst-hit areas.
Drones also struck shopping centres in Rivne and Sumy, a food-processing site in Volyn, and a customs terminal at Kovel on the main road towards Poland, where around 10 trucks caught fire. Ukraine said its air defences brought down a significant share of the incoming weapons but did not give a full count.
Link to US sanctions decision
The attack came hours after US President Donald Trump waived sweeping sanctions and tariffs on Russia under a new US law. Zelenskyy criticised that decision, arguing that pressure on Moscow was needed as Russia tries to damage Ukraine's grid before winter. He said European partners were preparing new support packages.
Russia's top military commander told President Vladimir Putin on Friday that the forces needed to continue the air campaign against Ukraine's energy system had been allocated, according to reports.
A deadly autumn
The United Nations human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine recorded at least 328 civilians killed in September, sharply higher than a year earlier. Its head said the first two weeks of October were among the deadliest periods for civilians in years. For India, which has called for dialogue to end the war, the escalation adds to pressure on global energy markets already strained by the conflict in the Gulf.
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