One Million Ukrainians Left Without Power After Russia’s Missile Assault

[UPDATES] As of 11 a.m., according to the AFU Air Force, the Armed Forces of Ukraine recorded 188 aerial targets. Russian forces launched three S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles, 57 Kh-101 cruise missiles, 28 Kalibr cruise missiles, three Kh-59/69 guided air-to-surface missiles, and 97 Shahed attack drones, along with other unidentified drones in Ukraine.

Ukrainian air defense forces shot down 76 X-101/Kalibr cruise missiles, three Kh-59/69 guided air missiles, and 35 drones. Additionally, 62 drones are reported as "locationally lost," according to the Ukrainian military.

[UPDATES] As of 10 a.m., the regional authorities report that the combined missile and drone attack, launched in waves throughout the early hours of Thursday, knocked out electricity for more than a million subscribers in Ukraine's west, hundreds of kilometres from the front lines.

"As of now, 523,000 subscribers in Lviv region are without electricity," regional head Maksym Kozytskyi said on social media.

According to Sudpilne, 681 villages in the Rivne region without electricity, and nearly 10 lack water. Educational institutions have switched to distance learning.

In the Volyn region, 215,000 people are without power due to damage to critical infrastructure. The Khmelnytsky region is experiencing partial power outages.

In Mykolaiv, schools are closed, alarm systems are non-functional, and electric transport is operating on shortened routes. Zhytomyr is facing both power outages and water supply issues.

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Russian forces launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure using missiles and drones early in the morning on Thursday, Nov. 28. The strikes targeted power facilities nationwide, forcing Ukrenergo, the national energy operator, to implement emergency power outages.

Since Russia's invasion in February 2022, Ukraine's energy grid has been a frequent target, with Kyiv accusing Moscow of using "terror" tactics to plunge cities into darkness and deny heating to civilians during the winter months.

"There are emergency blackouts all over the country due to the enemy's attack on our energy sector. There is no end in sight," said the CEO of the Yasno energy supplier Sergey Kovalenko.

Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko confirmed that the strikes aimed to disrupt Ukraine's power supply during winter.

At approximately 5 a.m., the Air Force reported a string of Russian cruise missiles heading for cities across the country, including Kyiv and the western regions like Lviv, Khmelnytskyi and Ivano-Frankivsk.

The strikes caused widespread disruption across Ukraine, hitting multiple regions and crippling vital infrastructure.

In Kyiv, debris from explosions fell in open areas, while in Kharkiv, a civilian enterprise was targeted in the Kyivskyi District.

In the Sumy region, Shostka saw severe damage to a school, hospital, high-rise buildings, and water facilities.

Vinnytsia and the Odesa region reported damage to private residential houses. Explosions were also heard in Zhytomyr, Lviv, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions.

In Rivne, heavy smoke followed a series of blasts, leaving over 280,000 residents without power and disrupting water supplies.

In Volyn’s Lutsk, power outages halted electric transport, and in Mykolaiv, blackouts forced schools, trams, and trolleybuses to shut down. The attacks have left many areas without Power and water supplies are affected as the country braces for winter.

In the western Lviv region, the power grid was heavily damaged as well.

"I don't expect good news on electricity - everything is logical," wrote Nikolaevskyi Vaniok, the biggest monitoring Telegram channel in Ukraine.

Andrii Yermak, head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, described the attacks as “terror tactics,” accusing Russia of stockpiling missiles and receiving support from allies like North Korea.

"They are aided by their crazy allies, in particular from the DPRK. Now, the Russians are carrying out a combined attack on the country. They fight with children. Ukraine has means to respond to it," Yermak wrote on his Telegram channel.

Russia earlier this week said it was preparing its own retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on its territory using US-supplied ATACMS missiles.

Ukraine has carried out at least three missile attacks on Russian border regions after receiving approval from the White House to target Russian territory.

In response to the first strike, Moscow launched a hypersonic ballistic missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, a weapon never seen before.

In a heated speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the missile, capable of carrying nuclear warheads, could be used against Western countries if they allow Ukraine to use their weapons to attack Russia.