Russia launches 'massive' missile, drone attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, fires reported in Kyiv
Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated. Read the latest news on Russia's overnight Nov. 8 attacks, including its drone strike on a residential building in Dnipro.
Russia launched yet another wide-ranging attack on Ukrainian cities overnight on Nov. 8, using a combination of drones and missiles to strike targets across the country.
Monitoring groups reported that Russia launched Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, as well as cruise and ballistic missiles at various regions of the country.
The cities of Kremenchuk, Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv served as the primary target of Russian attacks, with strikes also targeting communities in Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, and Poltava oblasts. Explosions were also heard in the city of Sumy, as well as in Odesa Oblast.
In Kyiv, explosions were heard just before 4:30 a.m. local time, according to a Kyiv Independent journalist on the ground. Officials reported that air defenses were activated in the city amid a wider Russian drone attack on the capital.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko later reported that a fire has been reported in the Pechersky district amid falling drone debris stemming from the attack. The fire was later extinguished, the mayor added.
Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported that four small truck had caught fire in the district, adding that two structures and nearby parked cars were also damaged.
No information was provided on the scale of the fires nor on any damage or casualties caused.
The attack on the capital comes amid a wider attack on cities closer to Ukraine's front line regions. Air raid alerts throughout the night warned of Russian ballistic missile attacks, targeting Ukraine's central, southern, and eastern regions.
Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk said that the "massive" combined missile and drone attack targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, resulting in emergency power outages being implemented in several regions.
Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported energy infrastructure was struck in Odesa Oblast amid the ballistic missile attack.
Hrynchuk said that the consequences of the attacks are being determined and outages will be restored "once the situation in the energy system stabilizes."
Throughout the fall, Russia has continued to intensify attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure as it attempts to plunge the country into yet another harsh winter. The worst strikes on Oct. 3 and 5 wiped out around 60% of Ukraine’s gas production sites.
Earlier in the night, Russia also carried out a drone attack on a residential building in the city of Dnipro, injuring at least seven people, including two children, officials reported.
