In the early hours of October 10, 2025, Ukraine awoke to the chilling sound of explosions and the stark reality of darkness. Russia had unleashed a massive barrage of missiles and drones, targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in what authorities described as one of the most concentrated attacks since the start of the full-scale war in February 2022. The strikes cut power and water to millions, left a seven-year-old child dead in the southeast, and forced a bruised nation to brace for a winter that now promises to be even harsher.
Kyiv, the capital, bore the brunt of the assault. According to Ukraine’s energy ministry, over 800,000 customers in Kyiv lost power as Russian drones and missiles slammed into energy facilities. The city’s iconic metro system, particularly the vital link crossing the Dnipro River, ground to a halt. Water supplies were disrupted for up to 2 million residents, leaving many to queue at distribution points or fill bottles at public taps. "We didn't sleep at all," said Liuba, a pensioner collecting water. "From 2:30 a.m. there was so much noise. By 3:30 we had no electricity, no gas, no water. Nothing."
Firefighters spent the night evacuating residents from a residential building in Kyiv’s city center after a Russian Shahed-136 drone hit the structure, igniting a fire that rapidly spread across several floors. More than 20 people were rescued from the 17-storey building, with five hospitalized and others treated at the scene. For Anatoliy, a 23-year-old student, the day began with confusion and fear. "We had no power or water when I left my house. I can't get to work because the subway is not operating and buses are overflowing," he told Reuters. "I'm hoping for the best but I don't even know how to reach the other bank [of the Dnipro]," he added, after spending the night in his hallway due to the relentless explosions.
The attack’s impact extended well beyond the capital. According to the national energy operator Ukrenergo, power outages were also reported in Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Cherkasy. In the Poltava region alone, around 17,000 consumers lost electricity. In Zaporizhzhia, residential areas and energy sites were hit by attack drones, missiles, and guided bombs, killing a seven-year-old boy and wounding his parents and others. A hydroelectric plant in the area was taken offline as a precaution, highlighting the vulnerability of Ukraine's critical infrastructure.
Ukraine’s air force revealed the staggering scale of the assault: 465 strike and decoy drones and 32 missiles of various types were launched. Air defenses managed to intercept or jam 405 drones and 15 missiles, but the sheer volume overwhelmed the system. President Volodymyr Zelensky did not mince words, calling it “a cynical and calculated attack.” He wrote on X, “It is precisely the civilian and energy infrastructure that is the main target of Russia’s strikes ahead of the heating season.” He later added that Russia had deliberately timed the attack to coincide with international efforts for Middle East peace, stating, “This marks a new record of Russian depravity, to intensify terrorist strikes and target civilian lives at such a moment.”
Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko echoed the gravity of the situation, describing the assault as “one of the largest concentrated strikes” against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since the war began. Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk, meeting with G7 ambassadors and energy company representatives, stressed the need for urgent help to protect and repair Ukraine’s battered grid. “The blow is strong, but it is definitely not fatal,” President Zelensky assured reporters, while Hrynchuk noted that the attack came three years to the day since Russia’s first large-scale strike on Ukraine’s power grid. “Today, Russia continues to use cold and darkness as instruments of terror,” she posted on Facebook.
As the country scrambled to restore services, DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy firm, reported significant damage to its thermal power plants. In the words of a company spokesperson, the full extent of the destruction was still being assessed, but repair work was already underway. Meanwhile, the local branch of the state-owned gas company Naftogaz in Zaporizhzhia called on residents to reduce consumption to stabilize pressure and allow for repairs after strikes damaged local gas infrastructure.
For many Ukrainians, the timing of the attack could not have been worse. Winter temperatures in Ukraine can plunge well below freezing, and the energy sector has long been a key battleground in the conflict. Each year since the invasion began, Russia has stepped up efforts to cripple Ukraine’s power grid ahead of the cold season, apparently hoping to sap public morale and force concessions. This year, however, the scale was unprecedented. Russian strikes in recent days have wiped out more than half of Ukraine’s domestic natural gas production, a vital resource for heating. If such attacks continue, Ukraine expects it will need to purchase roughly 4.4 billion cubic meters of gas by the end of March 2026, at a cost nearing €2 billion ($2.3 billion), according to officials familiar with the details.
International support has become more crucial than ever. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, visiting Lviv, announced that Poland was exploring ways to help Ukraine with electricity generation and extra supplies. “This is another escalation, because we know why it’s being carried out. It’s meant to intimidate people ahead of winter,” Sikorski said, as reported by CBC.
Russia, for its part, claimed the overnight strikes were retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on civilian facilities within Russian territory. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated the barrage was a response to “the terrorist attacks by the Kyiv regime on civilian targets on Russian territory.” Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials maintained that their own drone strikes against Russia have focused primarily on military and oil installations, and on a far smaller scale.
With the war nearing its fourth winter, Ukrainians are bracing for tough months ahead. President Zelensky has called for increased air defenses to protect the country’s 203 main energy facilities and for stricter enforcement of sanctions against Russia. The resilience of Ukraine’s people is being tested anew, as they face not only the threat of bombs but also the weaponization of cold and darkness.
As Kyiv’s residents gather at bus stops, fill water bottles, and huddle in hallways against the night’s explosions, the world is reminded—yet again—of the human cost of this conflict and the relentless pressure on Ukraine’s infrastructure as winter looms.
