Russia carried out one of its largest overnight attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, killing at least six people and leaving vast areas without electricity, water, and heating.

According to reports, the strikes targeted both residential and industrial areas, hitting 25 sites across Kyiv and other cities.

Ukrainian authorities said Moscow deployed over 450 drones and 45 missiles in the assault. Several major power facilities were damaged, causing emergency blackouts in multiple regions.

Energy company DTEK confirmed that electricity was cut to parts of Kyiv and the northern city of Kharkiv.

President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that in Dnipro, a Russian drone hit a residential building, killing three people, while one person died in Kharkiv.

“Russian strikes once again targeted civilian life,” said Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga. “Communities were left without power, water, and heating. Critical infrastructure and railway networks were damaged.”

In Kharkiv, the mayor reported severe electricity shortages, while local authorities said water supplies were also disrupted.

Kremenchuk, in the Poltava region, experienced interruptions to electricity, water, and partial heating following the attacks.

Restoration Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said train services nationwide were disrupted due to damage at locomotive depots.

“We are working to eliminate the consequences across the country, focusing on restoring heat, electricity, and water as quickly as possible,” stated Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

State-owned energy company Naftogaz said this assault marks the ninth major attack on gas infrastructure since early October.

Experts warned that sustained strikes could lead to heating shortages as winter approaches.

The Kyiv School of Economics estimated that half of Ukraine’s natural gas production has already been shut down.

Energy analyst Oleksandr Kharchenko warned that if Kyiv’s two main power and heating plants remain offline for more than three days in temperatures below minus ten degrees Celsius, the capital could face a “technological disaster.”

Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed responsibility, stating that its forces targeted “enterprises of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex and gas and energy facilities that support their operation.”

Meanwhile, Ukraine has intensified its own drone strikes on Russian oil depots and refineries in recent months in an effort to cut off Moscow’s vital energy exports.

On Friday evening, drone attacks on energy infrastructure in Russia’s southern Volgograd region caused temporary power outages there, according to regional governor Andrei Botcharov.

• Air traffic control staffing issues delay flights in 12 major US cities.
• FAA imposes ground delay plans, Atlanta flights delayed 337 mins.
• Transportation Secretary Duffy warns of potential 20% air traffic cuts.

US airlines cancelled 1,330 flights on Day 2 of government-mandated flight cuts across the country on Saturday, and the industry braced for more cancellations as the federal shutdown continues.

The Federal Aviation Administration instructed airlines to cut 4% of daily flights starting on Friday at 40 major airports because of air traffic control safety concerns. The shutdown has led to shortages of air traffic controllers because they have not been paid for weeks.

Reductions in flights will rise to 6% on Tuesday before hitting 10% by November 14.

25 airports face flight jam

The FAA on Saturday reported air traffic control staffing issues at 25 airports and other centres, delaying flights in at least 12 major US cities, including Atlanta, Newark, San Francisco, Chicago and New York.

The FAA imposed ground delay programs at several airports on Saturday, with delays averaging 337 minutes for flights at Atlanta, one of the busiest US airports.

Some 5,450 flights were delayed on Saturday after 7,000 were delayed and 1,025 were cancelled on Friday.

The cuts, which began at 6am ET (1100 GMT) on Friday, include about 700 flights from the four largest carriers: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.

Those airlines cancelled about the same number of flights on Saturday.

Earlier this week, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said 20% to 40% of controllers have not been showing up for work over the past several days.

During a US Senate debate on Friday, Senator Ted Cruz blamed the shutdown for air traffic control concerns. Cruz, a Texas Republican who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, said he has been told that since the shutdown started, pilots have filed more than 500 voluntary safety reports about mistakes made by air traffic controllers because of fatigue.

During the record 39-day government shutdown, 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 security screeners were forced to work without pay, leading to increased absenteeism.

Many air traffic controllers were notified on Thursday that they would receive no compensation for a second consecutive pay period next week.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said it was possible he could require 20% cuts in air traffic if more controllers stop showing up for work. “I assess the data,” Duffy said. “We’re going to make decisions based on what we see in the airspace.”

The Trump administration has cited air traffic control problems as Republicans try to pressure Senate Democrats to back what they call a “clean” government funding bill with no strings attached. 

Democrats blame the shutdown on a Republican refusal to negotiate over health insurance subsidies that will expire at the end of this year.

• Zelenskiy urges more sanctions on Russia for energy attacks.
• Naftogaz reports damage to gas facilities.
• Several Ukrainian cities using generators for power and water.

Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles in overnight attacks on Ukraine, killing at least three people and damaging large energy infrastructure facilities in three regions, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had launched more than 450 drones and 45 missiles.

Two people were killed and 12 wounded in the city of Dnipro when a drone hit an apartment building. One person was killed in the Kharkiv region, regional officials said.

Energy facilities in the Kyiv, Poltava and Kharkiv regions were damaged, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.

State-owned energy company Tsentrenergo said the attacks were the largest on its facilities since the start of the war in February 2022, and that it had halted operations at its plants in the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions.

“The last strike was not even a month ago and the enemy has now struck all our generating capacity at the same time. The stations are on fire!” Tsentrenergo, which generates about 8% of Ukraine’s power, said in a statement.

“Our generation is now zero.”

Zelenskiy calls for more sanctions

Zelenskiy said sanctions pressure should be intensified.

“… for every Moscow strike on energy infrastructure – aimed at harming ordinary people before winter – there must be a sanctions response targeting all Russian energy, with no exceptions,” he said on the Telegram app.

Since the start of its invasion almost four years ago, Russia has made a point of attacking the power sector as the need for heating grows. This autumn it has attacked gas facilities nine times within two months, according to the state firm Naftogaz.

Moscow’s Defence Ministry said it had launched “a massive strike with high-precision long-range air, ground and sea-based weapons” on weapon production and energy facilities in response to Kyiv’s strikes on Russia.

Russia also said its forces continued to advance in grinding battles around the towns of Pokrovsk and Kupiansk, and had captured a tiny village in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine regularly sends drones to strike oil facilities inside Russia.

As diplomatic peace efforts have faltered, Kyiv is trying to reduce Moscow’s ability to finance its war.

The Ukrainian air force said 406 Russian drones and nine missiles had been shot down, and 26 Russian missiles and 52 drones had hit 25 sites.

Svyrydenko said the government and energy companies were working to restoredamaged electricity, water and heating provision.

In the Poltava region, two cities – Kremenchuk with a population of about 200,000 people and Horishni Plavni with 50,000 – lost most of their electricity and were using generators to provide water, city officials said.