Kyiv faces over 12 hours of emergency power cuts following 'one of the largest' Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure
Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast faced emergency power outages after a new large-scale Russian attack overnight on Nov. 8, which targeted Ukraine's energy and gas infrastructure.
Ukrainian forces downed 406 out of the 458 drones, including Shahed-type attack drones, launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported. Russia also launched 45 cruise and ballistic missiles, nine of which were downed, the statement said.
The cities of Kremenchuk in Poltava Oblast, Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv were the primary targets of Russian attacks. Explosions were also heard in the city of Sumy, as well as in Odesa Oblast.
"Very brazen, in many ways the strike is demonstrative," President Volodymyr Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine is working with the U.S. to buy additional Patriot air defense systems.
Emergency power cuts were introduced in several Ukrainian regions due to the attack, according to Ukraine's state grid operator Ukrenergo.
Ukraine's largest private energy company, DTEK, reported on Nov. 8 that one of its thermal power plants had been "seriously damaged" by a Russian attack. According to the company, Russia has attacked DTEK power plants over 210 times since the start of the full-scale invasion.
In Kyiv, outages varied by location, with some areas expected to remain without electricity for up to eight hours.
Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk said that the consequences of the attacks are being determined and normal outages (up to four hours a day) will be restored "once the situation in the energy system stabilizes."
By the evening on Nov. 8, Hrynchuk claimed on national TV that the energy situation had been somewhat stabilized, giving consumer the ability to "plan their actions in connection with power outages." Specific details on emergency crews' ability to restore parts of the power grid were not immediately available.
Hrynchuk called the attack "one of the largest direct ballistic missile attacks on energy facilities" since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
"It's hard to remember such a number of ballistic missiles that directly attacked energy facilities," she added.
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 defense were at work 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.
No casualties in the capital were reported.
The attack on Kyiv 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.
Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported energy infrastructure was struck in Odesa Oblast amid the ballistic missile attack.
Throughout the fall, Russia has intensified 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.
