Russian Missile and Drone Barrage Cuts Power to 600,000 in Kyiv and Kharkiv

HOURS-LONG ATTACK TARGETS THE POWER GRID

Russian missiles and drones struck Kyiv and Kharkiv overnight into Wednesday, killing at least three people and plunging roughly 600,000 Ukrainians into darkness, authorities said. The attack primarily targeted Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, and the capital, damaging 30 energy facilities according to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Russia's defence ministry said it had struck four power plants in and around Kyiv and two in Kharkiv among other targets on Wednesday.

ZELENSKIY CALLS IT A DELIBERATE MESSAGE TO WASHINGTON

"The strike was entirely deliberate and demonstrative in its scale. Russia has never before shown such ostentatious disrespect toward the United States," Zelenskiy wrote on social media, linking the timing of the attack to ongoing peace efforts led by President Donald Trump.

The strike came despite reports that both sides had agreed to halt attacks on energy infrastructure heading into winter, an understanding neither Moscow nor Kyiv has formally confirmed. Trump lifted sanctions on Russian diesel exports last week in a bid to ease politically sensitive fuel prices.

A WINTER WARNING FOR UKRAINE'S GRID

With winter approaching, repeated strikes on power infrastructure have become a recurring feature of the war, raising the risk of prolonged blackouts for millions of Ukrainians. Residents in Kyiv described hearing explosions for hours overnight as emergency crews worked to restore power and tend to damaged apartment buildings.

Ukrainian officials have not given a timeline for restoring electricity to all affected areas, and further strikes on the grid remain a possibility as the war continues into its fifth winter.