Russia Strikes Energy Sites Around Kyiv and Damages Northern Bridge
Russian forces hit energy facilities around Ukraine's capital Kyiv overnight with missiles and drones, straining power and heating supplies. Ballistic missiles also damaged the Northern Bridge over the Dnipro River.
Russian forces attacked energy infrastructure around Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, with missiles and drones overnight into Saturday, 7 November. Officials said electricity, water and heating supplies were disrupted as temperatures approached zero. The assault came in several waves, with explosions heard across the city.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said several ballistic missiles struck and damaged the Northern Bridge across the Dnipro River. Ukraine's energy ministry reported serious damage to facilities outside the city, including systems that carry power from two nuclear plants to Kyiv and to Ukraine's central regions.
President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X that the capital faced serious difficulties with electricity, water and heat, and that substations in five other regions were also hit.
Figures and casualties
According to Zelensky, Russia launched 36 ballistic missiles, of which only four were intercepted. Ukraine's air force said air defences downed 149 of 172 drones. At least two people were killed and about a dozen wounded across Ukraine, and homes, businesses and non-residential buildings were damaged, authorities said.
Russia's defense ministry said it carried out a massive strike on targets in Ukraine's military-industrial sector, as well as on energy and transport infrastructure in and around Kyiv.
Background
Russia has stepped up air attacks as its ground offensive has largely stalled. In recent weeks it has also extended its campaign to Kyiv's bridges, snarling traffic in a city of more than 3 million people. The full-scale invasion is now more than four and a half years old.
The strikes came days before a new round of three-way talks in Abu Dhabi between Ukrainian and Russian officials, part of a U.S.-backed peace effort that has so far yielded few results. Zelensky linked the attack to preparations for those talks. He also said Ukraine counts on the U.S. Congress to pay more attention to Ukraine, following recent U.S. midterm elections that have raised hopes of stronger support from a Democratic-controlled Congress.
