Three thermal power plants operated by DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, stopped generating electricity on Nov 3 after Russia fired 289 strike drones, 59 cruise missiles and 17 ballistic missiles at the country’s energy grid in a single night. The strikes shut down the Prydniprovska and Kryvyi Rih plants in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and the Ladyzhyn plant in Vinnytsia Oblast, with DTEK saying “the destruction is extensive” and the stations have ceased electricity generation.
The overnight assault hit power generation plants, combined heat and power stations, and transmission and distribution substations across 10 regions after Russian forces struck energy infrastructure more than 20 times over the course of Nov 2. Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr and Kharkiv oblasts faced the most severe power supply disruptions, while emergency blackouts were imposed in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Cherkasy oblasts and more than 200,000 residents lost electricity in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast alone. NetBlocks also recorded a drop in internet connectivity across multiple regions following what state grid operator Ukrenergo called one of the largest attacks on Ukraine’s energy system to date.