Russia launches its largest energy assault on Ukraine since spring, killing seven including a child
From the Newshound archive · first published 29 September 2026 · last updated 1 October 2026.
Russia fired nearly 190 drones and ballistic missiles at Ukraine's power grid overnight, striking facilities around Kyiv, Odesa and the Izmail port in what Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi called the heaviest combined attack on energy infrastructure since the end of last winter's heating season. Seven people were killed across the country, including a child. Ukraine's biggest private energy firm, DTEK, scrambled to restore power to 8,000 homes after what it described as "a difficult night" for the capital, with Kyiv residents waking to a city blanketed in smoke.
Ukraine's air force shot down five missiles and 155 drones, but key power plants were still hit and grid operator Ukrenergo urged residents to avoid heavy appliances.
Russia targeted the Trypilska thermal power station — the largest electricity supplier to Kyiv — as well as a Kyiv communications centre and port infrastructure at Izmail.
A former Nato official, John Lough of the New Eurasian Strategies Centre, warned that 'Putin thinks he's winning — and I think he's right', urging PM Andy Burnham to step up Britain's response.