Three people have been killed and dozens injured after Russian forces carried out a large-scale combined missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight, targeting energy and civilian infrastructure and leaving around half a million residents of Kyiv without electricity.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russia launched about 36 missiles and nearly 600 drones “against normal life” during the assault. In a statement reported by the Ukrainian news agency UNN, he said emergency services were working at multiple impact sites in Kyiv and the wider region. The main targets, he stated, were energy facilities and civilian sites, with damage and fires in residential buildings. As of his address, three deaths and dozens of injuries had been confirmed.
The attack began during the night of 28–29 November and continued into the morning, setting off prolonged air-raid alerts in Kyiv and several other regions. Residents reported explosions across the capital as air defence systems attempted to intercept incoming missiles and drones. Multi-storey apartment blocks and other civilian structures were damaged, and rescue teams were deployed to extinguish fires, clear debris and search damaged buildings for casualties.
The scale of the strike was underlined by data from Ukraine’s air force which reported that 558 out of 596 drones and 19 out of 36 missiles, including a “Kinzhal” hypersonic missile, were shot down over Ukraine. Despite the high interception rate, weapons that penetrated air defences, along with falling debris, caused damage at more than 20 locations, including residential areas and critical energy sites.
The impact on the capital’s electricity supply was severe. Ukrainian energy company DTEK said that around half a million residents of Kyiv were left without power. Large parts of the Obolonskyi, Solomianskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, Podilskyi, Holosiivskyi and Sviatoshynskyi districts were cut off from the grid, with repair crews dispatched to assess damage and begin restoration work.
Nationally, the disruption was even broader. Ukraine’s energy ministry reported that power outages hit some 600,000 consumers across the country, including more than 500,000 in Kyiv, over 100,000 in Kyiv region and several thousand in Kharkiv region. The ministry warned that emergency and stabilisation shutdowns would continue while damaged infrastructure is repaired.
The attack followed a pattern seen in previous autumn and winter campaigns, in which power plants, substations and transmission lines have been systematically targeted.
In his statement, Zelenskyy linked the latest wave of strikes directly to Ukraine’s ongoing demands for air defence supplies from international partners. He said Ukraine must work “without losing a single day” to ensure there are sufficient interceptor missiles for its air defence systems and that the country has “everything necessary” both for its protection and for maintaining pressure on Russia. His comments echoed earlier appeals made via his official account on X, in which he has repeatedly called for additional systems and ammunition.
Zelenskyy also used the attack to renew his call for decisions on frozen Russian assets held in Europe and other jurisdictions. As reported by UNN, he said it was time for Europe to take a decision on these assets if Moscow continues missile and drone strikes. He added that it was necessary to speak with all partners about concrete steps to end the war, and expressed thanks to those states already providing support.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the European Union and its partners have immobilised substantial Russian sovereign and private assets. The debate now centres on how far the proceeds and, potentially, parts of the principal can be used to fund military assistance and reconstruction for Ukraine. Zelenskyy’s latest comments seek to tie that discussion explicitly to Russia’s continuing campaign against energy and civilian infrastructure.
Friday’s attack fits into a wider pattern of repeated Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy system over successive winters. Analytical work, including that by the Centre for European Reform, has documented how Russian forces have shifted from purely military targets to systematic attacks on power generation and distribution, with a significant proportion of capacity knocked out in earlier waves (CER). Ukrainian officials have warned that energy infrastructure will remain a priority target and have called for both enhanced physical protection of facilities and a further build-up of air defence capabilities.
In Kyiv and the affected regions, emergency workers and utility personnel continued operations through the day to restore electricity supplies and secure damaged buildings. Local authorities and agencies, including those cited by UNN, indicated that casualty figures and damage assessments may be updated as clearance and repair work progresses and more information is obtained from the impacted districts.
