Russia strikes Ukraine's power grid ahead of winter, knocking out electricity across 7 regions

Russia has continued striking Ukraine's energy facilities ahead of winter, causing widespread power outages across the country.

A Russian overnight assault knocked out electricity in seven Ukrainian regions Friday morning, including Kyiv, Kharkiv and Chernihiv, according to Reuters and other media outlets. Ukraine's energy authority said the Kyiv region suffered the worst damage, with power infrastructure so severely damaged that it has had to restrict grid operation.

The Russian military said it struck a substation near Sumy using FAB-500 glide bombs. Russia's Defense Ministry also said a FAB-3000 bomb — weighing roughly 3 metric tons — was used in an attack targeting a Ukrainian military staging area in the Zaporizhzhia region. Neither the extent of the damage nor Russia's claims could be independently verified.

Russia has been intensifying its attacks on Ukraine's power grid in recent weeks. On Tuesday, Russian forces deployed 289 drones, 17 ballistic missiles and 59 cruise missiles to strike power plants and substations, disrupting electricity and water supply across Ukraine. Three of the five thermal power plants operated by DTEK, Ukraine's largest private power generator, were forced to halt operations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday urged the international community to provide equipment for repairing energy facilities, including transformers, cables and generators. Zelensky said every power plant in Ukraine had been damaged by Russian attacks.

Russia and Ukraine are set to resume peace negotiations in Abu Dhabi, UAE, under US mediation Tuesday through Wednesday. It will be the first time Russia, Ukraine and the United States have sat down together since February. However, Russia's large-scale strikes have continued up to this point, and military tensions show no sign of easing even as the talks approach.

Within Europe, calls are growing for the EU to play a greater role in the peace process. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni recently wrote to European Council President António Costa urging that a single negotiating representative be designated to speak for Europe in the Ukraine peace talks.

Meloni pointed to the situation in which individual member states are pursuing separate diplomatic contacts, and said Europe must participate in the negotiations with one voice. She warned that if the EU fails to appoint a representative, Europe's influence in the talks could diminish going forward.