Russian strikes cut power to hundreds of thousands of homes in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions on Nov 8, as Ukraine’s Ukraine energy grid strikes added to the strain of another wartime winter. The attacks hit energy infrastructure at a time when temperatures in Kyiv were already hovering around freezing.
According to the Straits Times, DTEK said more than 600,000 residents of the Dnipropetrovsk region were left without power after a night attack damaged important energy facilities.
In the Kharkiv region, Zlatopil mayor Mykola Baksheyev said nearly 250,000 customers were left without power. He said a Russian drone hit a critical infrastructure facility there, according to the Straits Times. Repair works were underway, but he said the time needed to restore service was unknown.
Ukraine’s energy ministry said a massive attack the previous day plunged residents in five regions into darkness and significantly hampered electricity transmission in Kyiv, the Straits Times reported.
Euronews reported that attacks also damaged energy facilities and a major bridge in Kyiv. A kindergarten in the city was severely damaged, with a large crater in its grounds, the outlet said. Five people were reported wounded in the strikes, according to Euronews. That figure is not tied to a specific location in the reporting.
Euronews also reported a fire at an industrial site, but it did not name the site or the bridge affected.
President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of intensifying strikes to put pressure on Kyiv ahead of US-brokered trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi on Nov 10 and 11, the Straits Times reported. Russia has not responded to these claims in the sources reviewed.
The strikes come as Russia has battered Ukraine’s energy grid and infrastructure throughout its four-and-a-half-year invasion. Euronews reported that diplomatic talks involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States are under discussion, while strikes on civilian areas and infrastructure continue.
Some details remain unconfirmed. No restoration timeline has been given in the reporting, and the Kharkiv mayor said the exact time is unknown. Reports of Kyiv losing power or water have not been confirmed by the sources reviewed; the only confirmed Kyiv power impact is the hampered electricity transmission described by the energy ministry. Africanews was available only as a headline and short excerpt, so its details could not be verified.
Repairs are underway in the affected regions, but no confirmed restoration time has been announced. Ukraine is preparing for another difficult winter, and US-brokered trilateral talks are scheduled for Nov 10 and 11 in Abu Dhabi.
The key facts in this story rely on two outlets, the Straits Times and Euronews. Gaps include the lack of a Russian response, the unnamed bridge and industrial site, and the unverified status of Kyiv’s power and water.
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This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.