Blackouts and no heating: Russia’s winter strike campaign takes aim at Ukraine’s energy network

Russia has initiated a second day of extensive missile and drone attacks on Ukraine's vital energy infrastructure, sparking widespread power outages as winter arrives. Ukrainian officials claim the Russian forces utilized 164 strike drones, 112 of which were jet-powered, and three Kh-59/69 cruise missiles, of which 137 drones were intercepted by Ukrainian forces.

Damage to energy facilities has been reported in Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Kharkiv, Odesa, and Chernihiv regions, resulting in rolling blackouts in northern and central areas of Ukraine.

Officials report that approximately 600,000 people in Dnipro city and the Dnipropetrovsk region are currently without electricity, while 140 high-rise buildings in the Zhytomyr region lack heating. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in Washington, D.C., suggests that Russia's winter 2026-27 strike campaign aims to undermine Ukraine's energy security and disrupt civilian life.

The shortage of air defense systems is deemed a contributing factor. Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius highlighted that Berlin has depleted its stockpile of Patriot interceptors that could be transferred to Ukraine. In response, Kyiv has intensified attacks on Russian missile launch sites and ballistic missile production facilities to diminish Moscow's capacity for large-scale strikes.

The report also underscores the scale of Russian losses, citing Belarusian pro-opposition and pro-Ukrainian hacker groups who claimed to have accessed Russian federal records revealing at least 440,982 registered servicemen deaths between February 2022 and August 2026, with an overall estimated toll surpassing 450,100. These figures were corroborated by Moscow Times, which cited leaked documents.

According to the Ukrainian defense ministry, total Russian casualties, including both killed and seriously wounded, approached 1.6 million by November 2026, with October reported as the war's deadliest month for Russian forces.

Logistical challenges persist for Russia. Deputy Defence Minister Colonel General Valery Solodchuk emphasized the development of unmanned systems to support troops within the 30-km drone-threat zone along the front as a priority. Russia is striving to establish a unified system to provide commanders with real-time visibility of logistics in the rear. Ongoing Ukrainian strikes on supply routes, bridges, and defense production sites further complicate Russian movements.

On the ground, Russian forces continued offensive operations around Sumy, Kupyansk, Lyman, Slovyansk, and Kostyantynivka without achieving confirmed advances. In the southern Kherson region, Ukrainian officials accused Russian forces of exploiting a limited ceasefire around Oleshky to move more than 1,000 personnel, along with weapons, artillery, drones, and supplies, across the Dnipro River.

Ukrainian military sources also reported that Russian forces are constructing tunnels to shield their movements from Ukrainian drones.