On the morning of October 10, 2025, the streets of Kyiv woke to the wail of sirens and the shudder of explosions, as Russian drone and missile strikes battered Ukraine’s capital and several other regions. The attacks, described by Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko as “one of the largest concentrated strikes” on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, left at least 20 people wounded in Kyiv alone, with the flames from burning apartment buildings lighting up the city’s skyline and power outages plunging neighborhoods into darkness. According to The Associated Press, rescue crews pulled more than 20 people from a 17-story apartment building where fire had engulfed the sixth and seventh floors. Five of the rescued were hospitalized, while others received first aid at the scene. Tragically, a separate strike in southeastern Ukraine claimed the life of a 7-year-old boy and wounded his parents, highlighting the human toll of the renewed Russian offensive.
As the dust settled, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of targeting civilians and critical infrastructure out of frustration over setbacks on the battlefield. "They can show nothing on the battlefield. All they can do is attack our power sector ... and attack our cities," Zelenskyy told reporters late Friday, as cited by The Associated Press. Residents in the hardest-hit districts recounted scenes of chaos and fear. Tetiana Lemishevska, 61, described the harrowing moment to The Associated Press: "Everyone was sleeping and suddenly there was such a sharp sound; it was clear that something was flying. I managed to pull the blanket over my head, and then the strike hit -- it blew out the windows, and the glass flew almost all the way to the door."
Power outages rippled across Kyiv and beyond, affecting regions including Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Cherkasy. Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, confirmed that the attack knocked out power on both sides of the Dnipro River, while Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, raced to repair multiple damaged thermal plants. By the next day, DTEK reported that “the main work to restore the power supply” had been completed for over 800,000 residents in Kyiv, though some localized outages persisted, as reported by The New York Times.
Ukraine’s air force detailed the scale of the assault: 465 strike and decoy drones, alongside 32 missiles of various types, were launched at Ukrainian targets on October 10. Air defenses managed to intercept or jam 405 drones and 15 missiles, a testament to the country’s increasingly sophisticated—yet still strained—defensive capabilities. Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed the strikes targeted energy facilities supplying Ukraine’s military, noting the use of Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and strike drones, but withheld specifics about the intended targets.
The timing of these attacks was no accident. Since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, Russia has repeatedly tried to cripple Ukraine’s energy grid ahead of the bitter winter months, hoping to sap public morale and pressure the government into concessions. With winter temperatures in Ukraine plummeting from late October through March—January and February being the coldest—such strikes have the potential to inflict suffering far beyond the immediate blast radius.
In the southeast, the Zaporizhzhia region endured its own barrage. Residential areas and energy sites were pounded with attack drones, missiles, and guided bombs, prompting officials to take a hydroelectric plant offline as a precaution. The attacks underscored the vulnerability of Ukraine’s energy sector, a battleground that has only grown more critical as the war drags on.
Against this backdrop, President Zelenskyy ramped up his appeals for international support, especially in reinforcing Ukraine’s air defenses. On October 10, he called for more robust backing from allies and tighter sanctions on Russia, stating in his nightly address, "Russian assets must be fully used to strengthen our defense and ensure recovery." The following day, a senior Ukrainian delegation was set to visit the United States to discuss the possible provision of long-range precision strike weapons, a move that could shift the dynamics of the conflict.
That same day, October 11, brought a significant diplomatic development. President Zelenskyy held a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, discussing the aftermath of the Russian attacks and the urgent need to bolster Ukraine’s air defenses. According to Zelenskyy’s post on X (formerly Twitter), "I informed President Trump about Russia's attacks on our energy system — and I appreciate his willingness to support us." He described the conversation as "very positive and productive," noting that the two leaders discussed "concrete agreements" on strengthening Ukraine’s air defenses.
While the White House had yet to comment publicly on the call, Zelenskyy indicated that he had "received the necessary signals that the U.S. is considering ways to strengthen our cooperation." The previous month, the Trump administration had approved a military support package for Ukraine under the NATO-funded Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), which included Patriot air defense ammunition—vital for countering the Russian ballistic missiles that have become a grim staple of the conflict. Axios reported, citing two undisclosed sources, that the discussions between Zelenskyy and Trump also touched on the potential supply of Tomahawk cruise missiles, which have a range of up to 2,500 kilometers. Such weaponry would give Ukraine the ability to strike targets deep inside Russian territory, though it remained unclear whether a decision was reached during their 30-minute conversation. President Trump, for his part, said on October 6 that he had "sort of made a decision" about supplying Tomahawks but wanted "to find out what they're doing with them."
The call also covered broader diplomatic efforts. Zelenskyy praised Trump’s recent peace initiatives in the Middle East, following a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. "If a war can be stopped in one region, then surely other wars can be stopped as well — including the Russian war," Zelenskyy said, urging Moscow to engage in "real diplomacy." Trump has repeatedly promised to broker a swift peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow, though those efforts have thus far stalled, with Russia ramping up its attacks and rejecting calls for a ceasefire. The two leaders had previously met at the U.N. General Assembly in New York on September 23, after which Trump made a notable rhetorical shift, declaring that Ukraine is capable of liberating all of its territory.
Internationally, momentum is building for broader support of Ukraine. On October 11, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz released a joint statement expressing readiness to coordinate the use of immobilized Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine’s armed forces and bring Russia to the negotiating table. The European Union has already contributed about $202 billion since the war began, and the largest pool of available funds lies in frozen Russian assets—$225 billion in Belgium alone, with additional billions in Japan, the U.S., the U.K., and Canada. Ukraine’s projected budget and military needs for 2026 and 2027 are estimated at $153 billion, making these assets a crucial potential lifeline.
Despite the devastation wrought by the October 10 strikes, the following day brought signs of resilience and international resolve. Power was restored to most of Kyiv’s residents, and diplomatic channels buzzed with new commitments and discussions. As winter looms and Russia’s campaign against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure intensifies, the stakes—for Ukraine, and for its allies—have rarely been higher.