Russia launches sweeping missile strikes on Ukraine’s energy network, killing one and triggering widespread blackouts amid escalating winter warfare.
In one of its most aggressive attacks in months, Russia launched a large-scale assault on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure overnight, killing at least one person and plunging several regions into darkness, Ukrainian officials confirmed Saturday.
“The enemy is massively attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure again. Because of this, emergency power outages have been introduced in a number of regions,” said Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk, warning that critical systems are under heavy strain.
Kyiv reported waves of cruise missiles and Iranian-made Shahed drones targeting substations, power plants, and transmission facilities — a renewed effort by Moscow to cripple Ukraine’s electricity supply as temperatures drop. Although Ukrainian air defenses intercepted several projectiles, multiple power nodes were struck, causing cascading outages in the central, southern, and eastern oblasts.
Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s state power operator, confirmed “significant damage” to the national grid, with emergency crews dispatched to restore service. Hospitals and defense facilities have switched to backup generators. Officials described the assault as part of Russia’s ongoing campaign to “weaponize winter” by freezing civilians into submission — a strategy condemned internationally as a war crime.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed retaliation and resilience:
“They want darkness and fear — but they will only strengthen our resolve. Ukraine will endure, and light will return.”
The overnight barrage underscores Moscow’s determination to break Ukrainian morale following battlefield setbacks. Western intelligence analysts say the renewed attacks aim to exhaust Kyiv’s air defense stockpiles while signaling defiance ahead of further Western aid packages.
As Israel continues to stand firmly with democratic allies facing terror and aggression, this renewed Russian assault serves as another reminder of how authoritarian regimes—from Moscow to Tehran—use energy and fear as weapons of war.
