Russia launched one of its heaviest air assaults in months overnight on November 8, striking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with missiles and drones and causing widespread blackouts across major cities, including Kyiv and Kharkiv, reported Ukraine Business News.

The state-owned energy company Ukrenergo reported that in some regions there was “zero” generating capacity operating as of November 9. On the ground reports posted on social media said that rolling blackouts were affecting towns during the day but by the following night power had been restored in some regions.

According to Ukrainian authorities, the attack was the ninth major strike on the country’s civilian gas infrastructure since early October. Missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) targeted key facilities operated by state energy company Naftogaz, which supply heating to households during the winter. One employee was injured and production equipment sustained damage, the company said.

“All thermal power plants operated by state-owned Centrenergo are down following the largest Russian attack, which targeted all of them,” the company said in a statement. It added that plants previously restored after 2024’s strikes were hit again, with Russian drones “attacking each minute” through the night.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia launched 458 drones — more than 300 of them Iranian-made Shaheds — and 45 missiles, including 32 ballistic. Ukraine’s authorities reported that most of the drones were brought down by air defences but a significant number got through to hit their targets.

Naftogaz CEO Sergii Koretskyi condemned the strikes as “another cynical Russian attack aimed at depriving Ukrainians of gas, heat and electricity during the winter.”

Ukraine’s government said rescue operations were ongoing and that restoration work would begin as soon as security conditions allowed. Officials warned that millions could face the coming winter without heating, light, or running water as Russia continues what Kyiv describes as a campaign to systematically destroy the country’s energy system.

Previously, Russia targeted Ukraine’s thermal generating capacity, knocking out half the countries non-nuclear power stations. The current campaign is also hitting substations and transmission lines and destroying them faster than Ukraine’s utility companies can repair them.

“In recent weeks, the enemy has changed its tactics, shifting from massive strikes on Ukraine’s energy system as a whole to targeting specific elements in individual oblasts. Under these conditions, support for our energy workers from international partners has become even more critical,” Ukrenergo CEO Vitalii Zaichenko said, as cited by The New Voice of Ukraine.

In a new development Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the enemy is deliberately targeted substations that supply electricity to the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne nuclear power plants, which they need to run their cooling systems and will force the nuclear power stations to be shut down without power supplies. The Minister said that these strikes were not random, but carefully planned and constitute a danger to nuclear safety across the entire European continent.

Analysts say the assault is in retaliation for Ukraine’s campaign of bombing Russia’s oil refineries, which has reduced production between 10% and 20% since August.

"Kyiv, Kharkiv, and other cities endured massive blackouts after one of the largest Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid since 2022. Kyiv faced 12+ hours without power as missiles and drones hit grids, gas sites, and thermal plants," Tymofiy Mylovanov, President of the Kyiv School of Economics, posted on X.

The International Criminal Court has opened proceedings into Russia’s attacks on civilian infrastructure, classifying them as potential crimes against humanity. Pro-Russia sources point out that Nato ran a similar campaign against Serbia during the Yugoslav war, knocking out 80% of Serbia’s power capacity.

The attacks on Ukraine power facilities come as the heating season starts. As many Ukrainians live in Soviet-era apartment blocks, these will be extremely hard to heat during the depths of winter.