Russia Launches Largest Attack on Ukraine Energy Infrastructure Since Spring
KYIV, October 1, 2026 — Russia has launched its largest attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since the spring, targeting Kyiv and several other regions in an overnight barrage that killed at least five people, including a child, Ukrainian authorities said.
The attacks struck critical energy facilities as Ukraine prepares for another winter under the threat of sustained Russian assaults on its power grid.
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi said 11 regions were targeted, with strikes also hitting residential buildings, civilian businesses, social infrastructure and railway facilities.
The country’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said electricity had been restored to around 8,000 homes following what it described as a difficult night for Kyiv.
The Russian Defence Ministry said its targets included the Trypilska thermal power plant, the largest electricity supplier to the Kyiv region. The operator, Centrenergo, confirmed that the facility had been damaged and said it was assessing the extent of the destruction.
Koretskyi said Ukraine had experienced near-continuous attacks on its energy infrastructure since the summer, but described the latest assault as the first attack of such scale since the end of the previous heating season.
The strikes have already caused electricity disruptions in several parts of the country. Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said households in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Sumy and Kharkiv regions remained without power on Wednesday.
State-owned grid operator Ukrenergo urged residents to limit the use of powerful electrical appliances between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. local time, citing lower-than-normal electricity availability.
In Kyiv, residents woke to heavy smoke following the overnight attacks, while air raid warnings remained in place. Authorities in several districts advised residents to keep windows closed until the smoke cleared.
The civilian toll continued to rise as emergency crews searched damaged buildings. Kyiv regional authorities said a child was among those killed after the victim’s body was recovered from the rubble of a house. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said three people were killed in the capital, including a utility company employee.
Additional deaths were reported in the Mykolaiv and Sumy regions, with Ukrainian officials also reporting damage to a school in Sumy.
Russia said it had carried out a large-scale overnight strike against Ukrainian facilities and separately claimed that its forces had intercepted more than 380 Ukrainian drones over several Russian regions, including Moscow.
Ukraine, meanwhile, said its forces had carried out strikes against Russian military targets, including a drone warehouse in the occupied Donetsk region.
The latest escalation comes as Ukraine braces for another difficult winter. Russian attacks on the country’s energy network have become a recurring feature of the war since the full-scale invasion began in 2022, raising concerns over electricity and heating supplies as temperatures fall.
On the battlefield, Ukraine’s Third Army Corps said it had recaptured several settlements near Lyman in Donetsk as part of a counter-offensive known as Operation Vivaldi. President Volodymyr Zelensky visited troops in the area.
Despite the reported Ukrainian gains around Lyman, the wider front line remains largely stagnant, with neither side achieving major territorial breakthroughs.
The latest attacks underscore the continuing importance of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in the war, with the ability to maintain reliable electricity supplies becoming a critical challenge as the country enters another winter of conflict.
