Large-Scale Destruction Of Ukraine’s Energy Infrastructure Is Complicating Repair Efforts And Causing Blackouts

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Russia and Ukraine continued exchanging strikes on the night of November 8-9. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian air defense forces destroyed 44 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The Ukrainian Air Force stated that Russian forces launched 69 UAVs, of which 34 were shot down or suppressed.

The First Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine, Artem Nekrasov, said that the repair of Ukraine’s power generation infrastructure is significantly hampered due to large-scale destruction. All thermal power plants (TPPs) of the state-owned company «Centrenergo», which until recently accounted for about 18% of the country’s total generation, have ceased operation. Nekrasov noted:

«There is a power deficit, and spare parts are lacking. Under these conditions, hourly power outages are inevitable, and they have already been introduced in most regions. The most difficult situation is in Kharkiv, Sumy, and Poltava regions. There, up to three rounds of hourly outages are in effect simultaneously.» «We have stopped. Now it’s zero generation. Zero! We have lost what we restored round-the-clock. Completely… The stations are on fire.»

Blackouts affected many regions: in Kyiv, the funicular was stopped, and in Kharkiv, the metro ceased operating.

More Details on Strikes Against Ukraine

Russian forces struck infrastructure across ten regions, targeting key energy and transport facilities. In Kharkiv, the Zmiivska TPP, with a capacity of 2,175 MW and strategic importance for the region’s power supply, was hit.

The locomotive depot in Hrebinka, Poltava region, a crucial railway hub coordinating train traffic between Kyiv and Poltava and supporting 40 suburban routes, was severely damaged.

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Its destruction created a logistical bottleneck that will directly impact supply lines for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Earlier attacks hit the Tripilska TPP (1,800 MW) in the Kyiv region.

Additional strikes affected infrastructure in Dnipropetrovsk (Vasylkivka and Prosiana), Sumy (Putivl area), Chernihiv (Koriukivka, Novhorod-Siverskyi), Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Kirovohrad regions. The national company «Naftogaz» reported another strike on its gas infrastructure. Power supply disruptions have also caused failures in Ukraine’s railway system, forcing «Ukrzaliznytsia» to deploy reserve diesel locomotives.

Strikes Against Russia

Russian air defense forces destroyed 44 Ukrainian UAVs overnight. The governor of Voronezh region reported a fire at a communal utility facility following a drone attack, causing temporary disruptions in electricity and heat supply. Ukrainian sources claimed attacks on Voronezh TPP-1 and the «Korenevo substation» in Kursk region. Reports also emerged of a strike on an ammunition depot near Hvardiiske village in Crimea. In Belgorod, an evening rocket attack caused serious damage to city energy and heating supply systems.

Amid continuing mutual strikes, Russian cyber specialists delivered a significant blow to the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ messenger system, «Sonata». Developed by the Ukrainian company Dolya Communication Systems to transmit data on unit movements and frontline situations, the system was disabled less than a month after launch. This followed earlier hacking of the primary Ukrainian Armed Forces program «Delta», compounding challenges for Ukrainian troop command and control.

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