Russia carried out a large, overnight combined strike using drones and missiles across multiple regions of Ukraine, with Ukrainian officials emphasizing that energy infrastructure and civilian facilities were key targets.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on November 8 that more than 450 drones and 45 missiles of various types were launched, framing the strikes as aimed at normal life, residential buildings, energy facilities, and infrastructure.
“For every strike Moscow launches on our energy system in an attempt to hurt ordinary people before winter, there must be a sanctions response against the entire Russian energy sector without exceptions,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram, calling for dialing up the international pressure on the Kremlin.
Regional impacts included emergency power outages in the Poltava region under a special emergency outage schedule ordered by Ukrenergo, with Kremenchuk reporting a complete blackout and opening of “Points of Invincibility” — temporary public hubs offering heat, power, Internet, water, and basic aid.
Kharkiv saw subway service suspended and disruptions to electricity and water; electric transport was replaced by buses, and warming centers were opened. Rail operations were reportedly significantly disrupted in the Poltava region.
Civilian damage included a Russian drone strike on a nine‑story residential building in Dnipro that destroyed apartments on two floors, with at least three people reported killed.
“There must be a European decision on Russia’s frozen assets, additional sanctions, support, and reinforcement of Ukraine’s defense,” Zelenskyy said.
Kyiv has urged the United States to supply long‑range Tomahawk missiles to strike targets deep inside Russia as Moscow intensifies air attacks on Ukrainian cities, but President Donald Trump has repeatedly signaled he is not prepared to approve such deliveries.
Moscow has warned Washington against sending Tomahawks, with Vladimir Putin calling the move a “completely new stage of escalation” in US-Russia relations.
Approaching the fourth year of the full‑scale war, Ukraine argues that Tomahawks would degrade Russia’s war effort by hitting oil and energy facilities far from the front.
In the meantime, Ukraine has conducted deep strikes on Russian energy sites using drones, which carry smaller warheads than US cruise missiles.
