Russia launches largest energy attack on Ukraine since spring, kills five

Russia conducted a massive overnight strike on Ukraine's energy infrastructure on September 30, targeting Kyiv and 11 regions across the country. The attack killed at least five people, including a child found under rubble in the Kyiv region, and disrupted power supplies to thousands of homes. Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi said this was the largest combined assault on energy facilities since the end of the previous heating season, marking an intensification of Russia's campaign ahead of winter.

Russian military sources said they used ground-based precision weapons and long-range strike drones to hit multiple targets, including the Trypilska thermal power plant (located 40km from Kyiv and described by Russia as supplying electricity to defence facilities), the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant in Vyshhorod, the Kievskaya power substation, a De Novo data center serving as a major internet traffic hub, and port infrastructure at Izmail in Odessa. The plant operator Centrenergo confirmed damage to Trypilska. Ukraine's biggest private energy firm DTEK said power to 8,000 homes was restored following the strikes. State grid operator Ukrenergo imposed power restrictions, advising residents to avoid using powerful appliances between 10:00 and 16:00 local time.

Kyiv was shrouded in thick smoke after the overnight explosions, with air raid alerts lasting into daylight hours. Deaths were reported across multiple regions: three in Kyiv city (including a utility worker), one in Mykolaiv, and two in Sumy (where a school was also struck). Ukrainian officials said residential buildings, social infrastructure, railways, and civilian enterprises were targeted alongside energy sites. President Volodymyr Zelensky stated the main targets were energy infrastructure and described the assault as "difficult," while Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russia is using "drones and missiles during the day and night, constant attacks against cities and civilian life."

Russia's defence ministry claimed it intercepted more than 380 Ukrainian drones overnight across multiple regions including Moscow. Ukraine's military said it struck Russian targets including a drone warehouse in occupied Donetsk as part of Operation Vivaldi, a counter-offensive near the city of Lyman. The broader battlefield remains largely stagnant, with Russia controlling approximately 20% of Ukrainian territory. Ukrainian officials said that since summer there has been almost no day without Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, but this attack was the first of such scale and combination since the previous heating season ended—raising expectations of a prolonged winter campaign targeting civilian power and water supplies.