Key facts
- Russia targeted substations, transmission systems and power plants across 10 oblasts, cutting power to households nationwide, per the Kyiv Independent.
- DTEK said equipment at three thermal plants suffered significant damage and operations halted, without naming the sites.
- Ukraine's Energy Ministry recorded extensive damage in Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr and Kharkiv oblasts and imposed outages in the capital region and five other oblasts.
- The Energy Ministry said Russia struck energy infrastructure more than 20 times in the previous day.
- Ukrenergo CEO Vitalii Zaichenko said officials recorded one of the largest waves of Russian ballistic missiles aimed at critical infrastructure.
Russia launched its largest mass attack on Ukraine's energy facilities in 2026 on November 3, striking substations, transmission systems and power plants across 10 oblasts and cutting power to households nationwide, the Kyiv Independent reported. The attack was still under way at the time of publication.
Vitalii Zaichenko, CEO of state grid operator Ukrenergo, told the Kyiv Independent that energy officials recorded one of the largest waves of Russian ballistic missiles aimed at critical infrastructure, alongside cruise missiles, jet-powered drones and propeller-powered drones.
DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, said on November 3 that equipment and infrastructure at three of its thermal plants suffered significant damage and that operations there had halted. The company did not name the plant locations for security reasons.
Ukraine's Energy Ministry said extensive damage to energy infrastructure was recorded in Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr and Kharkiv oblasts. Power outages were imposed in the capital and the surrounding region, as well as in Poltava, Sumy, Chernihiv, Cherkasy and Kharkiv oblasts. The ministry said Russia struck energy infrastructure more than 20 times in the previous day.
Kyiv is exposed because Russia is trying to cut the capital off from power supplies, and officials did not prepare the city to the fullest extent earlier in 2026, according to the report. The government is preparing for another energy crisis after the winter of 2025-2026, when millions of people went without heating and power in subzero temperatures. Since the end of summer, Russia has renewed mass attacks on energy facilities ahead of winter, and many residents have begun leaving the capital.