Kyiv is now facing over 12 hours of emergency power cuts following Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure

Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast experienced emergency power outages after a massive Russian attack overnight on November 8 that targeted Ukraine’s energy and gas infrastructure.

According to the Air Force, Ukrainian defenders shot down 406 of the 458 drones launched by Russia, including Shahed-type attack drones. Russia also fired 45 cruise and ballistic missiles, nine of which were intercepted.

The primary targets included the cities of Kremenchuk, Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv, with explosions also reported in Sumy and Odesa Oblast.

President Volodymyr Zelensky called the strike “very brazen” and “demonstrative,” adding that Ukraine is working with the U.S. to procure additional Patriot air defense systems.

Ukraine’s state grid operator, Ukrenergo, confirmed emergency power cuts in several regions. DTEK, the country’s largest private energy company, reported that one of its thermal power plants was “seriously damaged” in the attack. The company said its facilities have been hit more than 210 times since the start of the full-scale invasion.

In Kyiv, outages varied across districts, with some areas expected to remain without electricity for up to eight hours. Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk said that normal scheduled outages — up to four hours per day — would resume once the energy system stabilizes.

By the evening of November 8, the Energy Minister said the situation had somewhat stabilized, allowing consumers to “plan their actions in connection with power outages.” She described the assault as “one of the largest direct ballistic missile attacks on energy facilities” since February 2022.

In Kyiv, explosions were heard around 4:30 a.m. local time. Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported a fire in the Pechersky district caused by falling drone debris, which was later extinguished. No casualties were reported in the capital.

Russia targeted substations powering nuclear plants during large-scale overnight energy attacks

Russian forces targeted energy substations supplying the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne nuclear power plants overnight on November 7-8 during a large-scale attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.

“These were not accidental but well-planned strikes. Russia is deliberately endangering nuclear safety in Europe,” Sybiha wrote on social media on November 8. He did not specify whether the substations were damaged or directly hit.

Officials have not reported any disruptions to the operations of either nuclear power plant.

According to Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk, Russia launched 45 cruise and ballistic missiles and over 450 drones in what she called “one of the largest direct ballistic missile attacks on energy facilities” since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Ukraine’s state grid operator, Ukrenergo, introduced emergency outages in several regions following the attack, with Kyiv facing more than 12 hours of power cuts.

Sybiha called for an urgent meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors in response to the strikes.

“There needs to be global pressure to force Moscow to stop its nuclear blackmail,” he said, urging China and India — Russia’s main energy importers — to demand that Moscow end its “reckless attacks on nuclear energy that risk a catastrophic incident.”

Although the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne plants are located in western Ukraine, far from the front lines, both remain vulnerable to strikes on nearby infrastructure.

In September, IAEA staff stationed at the two facilities reported hearing drones and gunfire during another Russian mass strike on western Ukraine.

The IAEA has also repeatedly expressed concern about the safety of the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which remains under Russian military control and has faced multiple emergency shutdowns and power outages.

Both the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne nuclear power plants remain under the supervision of Ukraine’s nuclear regulator and the IAEA, which has warned that any nearby military activity poses serious risks to nuclear safety.

PM of Slovakia will not support using the Russian frozen assets for Ukrainian military aid

Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico said Slovakia will not support using frozen Russian assets to fund aid for Ukraine.

The European Commission has proposed allowing EU governments to use up to €185 billion of Russia’s frozen sovereign assets in Europe to support Ukraine, without officially confiscating them. The proposal, however, has faced resistance from Belgium, where most of the assets are held.

“Slovakia won’t take part in any legal or financial schemes to seize frozen assets if those funds would be spent on military costs in Ukraine,” Fico said, adding that such a move would only prolong the war.

“Do we want to end the war, or are we stoking it? We are going to give €140 billion to Ukraine to keep the war going. That means it will continue for at least another two years,” he said.

EU officials confirmed that the plan to use frozen Russian assets remains under discussion, with a final decision expected in December 2025.