Russia’s missile strikes on Nov. 16-17 hit three of the five operational thermal power plants owned by Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, leaving one plant offline, Reuters reported on Nov. 21, citing unnamed sources.
The strikes targeted energy facilities across Ukraine in one of the heaviest assaults on the country’s power grid since the start of the full-scale war, with Russia launching approximately 120 missiles and 90 drones.
DTEK reported “heavy damage” to its equipment following the attack, marking the eighth mass assault on its energy plants this year. According to the source, two of the damaged facilities have resumed partial electricity production, while the third remains offline.
An unnamed official confirmed to Reuters that power plants and distribution stations were damaged during the Nov. 17 strikes but declined to provide specific figures on power losses, calling the information “too sensitive.”
Ukraine reintroduced rolling blackouts on Nov. 18, with outages lasting four to eight hours at a time and occurring multiple times daily.
Officials have warned that Russia may continue targeting the energy grid as winter approaches, repeating a strategy used during spring and summer and throughout the autumn-winter season of 2022-2023.
In September, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian attacks had destroyed all of Ukraine’s thermal power plants and most of its hydroelectric capacity. Ukrainian authorities and energy companies have been working to repair and reinforce the grid in anticipation of renewed attacks.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Ukraine’s electricity shortage could reach 6 gigawatts this winter—around one-third of peak demand. By comparison, the summer shortage was 2.5 GW, which already resulted in prolonged blackouts in Kyiv.
Mykola Kolisnyk
