Russia is trying to break Ukraine’s power grid before winter — one strike left house-sized crater

In early November 2026, a single Russian strike inflicted a house-sized crater at a Ukrainian power substation belonging to the state electricity transmission company, Ukrenergo. The strikes have ramped up significantly this year, with Russia targeting Ukraine’s grid around the clock using jet drones and ballistic missiles. One of the most recent attacks, on November 4, was one of the largest of the entire war, leaving more than 600,000 customers without power in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast alone.

Ukrenergo reports that repeated strikes are preventing crews from completing repairs before the next round of attacks, exacerbating the damage. Protective structures can mitigate some of the impact, but they cannot wholly safeguard the equipment from these relentless assaults. In the aftermath of such attacks, civilians face the compounded challenges of enduring extreme cold, without access to basic utilities, and the ongoing necessity to find survival strategies.

This precarious situation has led the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine to conclude that Russia is committing crimes against humanity by systematically targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of attempting to annihilate life in Ukraine’s major cities, including Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, and Kherson. This alarming revelation underscores the severity of the conflict and the detrimental effects it is having on the nation’s infrastructure and population.