All Ukraine’s State Thermal Power Plants Down After ‘Largest Ever Attack’ By Russia

Friday night witnessed more heavy Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian cities, which has left a reported eleven people killed and large swathes of Ukraine left without power. Moscow said its attacks targeted the country’s energy infrastructure.

Ukraine’s military confirmed Saturday morning that Russia launched hundreds of drones and missiles from the air, land, and sea, primarily targeting vital energy infrastructure, ahead of a potentially severe winter.

In total some 500 aerial attacks were detected overnight, including 45 missiles and over 450 drones drones. Ukraine’s military said just nine missiles were intercepted, but air defenses managed to shoot down 406 drones.

Gas and power facilities, including thermal energy sites, were damaged, leading to widespread outages across several regions.

An attack on eastern Dnipro region included a building being hit, which killed three people and injured 11 others, with Ukrainian media saying children were among the casualties. This was the result of a drone ripping through a residential building.

“Russian strikes once again targeted people’s everyday life. They deprived communities of power, water and heating, destroyed critical infrastructure, and damaged railway networks,” Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said in the aftermath.

Emergency management crews are working overtime to restore power to the impacted grids, but this has been a growing problem as badly needed parts are hard to constantly replace after years of accumulated damage.

Reports say Kiev has been plunged into darkness, and swathes of the city and region could be without power for some 9-hours or more:

The scenes of blackout in the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, following a large-scale Russian attack on Ukrainian energy infrastructure last night.

The only visible light is provided by the passing cars. pic.twitter.com/DmVl4WxSLA

— Status-6 (Military & Conflict News) (@Archer83Able) November 8, 2025

“We are working to eliminate the consequences throughout the country. The focus is on the rapid restoration of heat, light and water,” Svyrydenko said.

Ukraine’s southern Odesa was also impacted, with outages reported. The southern Black Sea port city has come under growing attacks, though it was mostly sparred from any major direct military action throughout the war. But as things keep escalating that could change.

Kyiv Post has cited authorities who say that all state thermal power plants are now offline:

All thermal power plants (TPP) operated by Ukraine’s state-owned energy company Centrenergo are down following “the largest Russian attack” which targeted all of them, the company announced on Nov. 8.

According to the company, the same thermal power plants that had been restored after attacks in 2024 were struck again, with multiple Russian drones targeting them “each minute” overnight on Nov. 8.

APOCALYPTIC scenes at Ukraine’s Zmievskaya Thermal Power Plant

HUGE black smoke columns rise after missile strike

One of Ukraine’s LARGEST power plants — operated by Centrenergo, now ALL plants SHUT down https://t.co/T4JaHyNSAB pic.twitter.com/UQqdiB5LHE

— RT (@RT_com) November 8, 2025

In the north, the mayor of Kharkiv has also reported a “noticeable shortage of electricity.” The Kremlin has confirmed this has been systematic and intentional so long as Kiev refuse to make significant compromise, including territorial concessions, to end the war.

While President Trump has recently approved some escalatory measures, such as providing Ukraine with intelligence for long-range attacks on Russian territory, the US president has by and large seemed to have washed his hands of involvement in a rapid peace process or any kind of lasting solution for that matter.