More than 600,000 residents in Kyiv and its surrounding region were left without electricity early Saturday after a barrage of Russian missile and drone strikes targeted Ukraine’s energy
infrastructure, officials said.
Ukraine’s energy ministry reported that over half a million outages occurred within the capital alone, citing overnight attacks that hit power facilities in Kyiv and several other regions. According to Ukrainian authorities, Russia launched roughly 36 missiles and nearly 600 drones across the country, killing three people and injuring dozens more.
The strikes marked one of Russia’s most extensive assaults in recent weeks as winter approaches—part of what Kyiv and Western allies describe as a renewed campaign to cripple critical infrastructure and weaken civilian resilience.
Russia’s defence ministry said it had carried out “a massive strike” on Ukrainian military-industrial sites and the energy systems supporting them.
By late Saturday morning, DTEK Energy, Kyiv’s main private energy provider, announced that electricity had been restored to more than 360,000 households, though widespread disruptions persisted.
Residential areas were also caught in the crossfire. Loud explosions echoed across the capital before dawn, and emergency crews later worked to extinguish fires in damaged apartment blocks. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 29 people were injured in the city, including a 13-year-old child.
Ukraine’s Air Force said it intercepted 558 drones and 19 missiles, though critical damage still occurred. Kyiv has endured regular aerial attacks since the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, with winters often accompanied by rolling blackouts due to strikes on power infrastructure.
Temperatures in the capital are expected to fall to 2°C on Sunday, with average December conditions typically dropping below freezing.
Ukraine has in turn targeted Russian energy facilities, striking oil depots and refineries with long-range weapons aimed at disrupting Moscow’s war financing. On Saturday, Ukraine’s security services said they had hit two oil tankers in the Black Sea believed to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” used to evade international sanctions. Video released by the agency showed a maritime drone speeding toward a vessel before flames erupted from its hull.
The latest assault came as Ukrainian negotiators prepared to meet U.S. officials amid an ongoing push by President Donald Trump’s administration to finalize a draft peace proposal. The plan, initially viewed as favourable to Russia, has been revised following talks with Ukrainian and European representatives in Geneva.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has cautiously welcomed mediation efforts while insisting Ukraine must preserve its sovereignty and ensure protections against future aggression.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday reiterated Moscow’s demands for ending the war, including a full withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from territories claimed by Russia. Russian forces currently occupy most of the Donbas region as well as significant parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Western allies have signaled support for freezing the conflict along existing front lines.
Putin confirmed that a U.S. delegation led by special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected in Moscow early next week to continue discussions on the proposed peace framework. Photo by Valerii Tkachenko, Wikimedia commons.