Ukraine Reports Deadly Russian Drone Strikes on Nuclear Substations, Seven Fatalities

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Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles in overnight attacks on Ukraine, targeting substations that supply two nuclear power plants and killing seven people, Ukrainian officials said.

“Russia once again targeted substations that power the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne nuclear power plants,” foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said on X.

“These were not accidental but well-planned strikes. Russia is deliberately endangering nuclear safety in Europe.”

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday (local time) Russia had launched more than 450 drones and 45 missiles.

In a tragic turn of events, a drone strike on an apartment building in Dnipro has resulted in the deaths of three individuals and injuries to 12 others. This devastating attack is part of a broader pattern of violence, as regional officials also reported fatalities in other areas: three people lost their lives in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, and one person was killed in the Kharkiv region to the north.

Energy facilities in the Kyiv, Poltava and Kharkiv regions were damaged, leaving thousands of people without power and water, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said. Officials in Poltava said power generators were used to provide water.

The Russian defense ministry announced earlier on Saturday that it had conducted a “massive strike with high-precision long-range air, ground, and sea-based weapons.” This offensive targeted weapon production sites and gas and energy facilities, characterized as retaliation for recent strikes by Kyiv on Russian territory.

As the conflict intensifies, reports indicate that power outages persist in certain regions, notably in northeastern Kharkiv and central Poltava. This ongoing disruption exacerbates the already dire conditions faced by civilians.

Energy minister Svitlana Hrynchuk said emergency crews had stabilised the power grid, but warned consumers further power cuts were needed to allow work to proceed after the attacks.

“We are assessing the aftermath and coordinating what actions to take in order to find alternative power sources to ensure people get their power and heating back,” Hrynchuk said on national television.

In the wake of these attacks, calls for international intervention have intensified. Sybiha has urged an immediate convening of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors. Additionally, he has appealed to global powers such as China and India to exert pressure on Russia to cease actions that could lead to a catastrophic incident at vulnerable facilities.

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 per cent of Ukraine’s power, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Russian forces continue to advance on the battlefield. On Saturday, Moscow reported progress around the towns of Pokrovsk and Kupiansk, with claims of capturing a small village in eastern Ukraine. This relentless push underscores the ongoing volatility and danger in the region.

Zelenskyy calls for more sanctions pressure

Zelenskyy 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.

Sybiha called for an urgent meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors and urged China and India to pressure Russia to stop attacks on facilities that risk “a catastrophic incident.”

Since the start of its invasion, Russia has attacked the power sector as the need for heating grows. It has attacked gas facilities nine times within two months, according to the state firm Naftogaz.

Russia has also continued with its advance along the battlefield in recent weeks. Moscow said on Saturday that its forces made gains around the towns of Pokrovsk and Kupiansk, and had captured a tiny village in eastern Ukraine.

Kyiv has stepped up long-range drone and missile strikes inside Russia, hitting oil refineries, depots and logistics hubs it says feed the Kremlin’s war machine.

The attacks, Ukraine says, are legitimate self-defence in the war that Russia launched in February 2022.

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