Russia Launches 310 Drones at Ukraine Overnight, Targeting Energy in 6 Regions; 6 Killed in Past Day

Power infrastructure in Ukraine (file photo). Photo: Хікматова / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).

Russia launched 310 long-range attack drones at Ukraine overnight into Wednesday, Nov. 4, including 81 jet-powered drones, Ukraine’s Air Force said, as strikes again hit energy facilities in six regions and forced emergency power cuts, the Kyiv Independent reported.

What we know

Ukraine’s Air Force said 272 of the drones were downed, including 64 of the jet-powered ones, and that 20 were still in Ukrainian airspace at about 8 a.m. Impacts were recorded at 19 locations, with falling debris at 15. The Air Force did not report a missile count for the night.

Russia targeted energy infrastructure in Odesa, Kirovohrad, Zhytomyr, Ternopil, Volyn and Rivne oblasts. DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, said emergency outages were introduced in several regions, including Kyiv. In Zhytomyr, Gov. Vitalii Bunechko said repair work was underway.

Casualties by region

Russian attacks killed six people and injured about 50 over the past day, according to regional officials cited by the Kyiv Independent:

• Dnipropetrovsk Oblast: 2 killed and 21 injured in Dnipro on Nov. 3, with more injured elsewhere in the region and 2 more injured in an attack on a Dnipro business on Nov. 4.
• Donetsk Oblast: 2 killed, 5 injured.
• Zaporizhzhia Oblast: 2 killed, 3 injured.
• Kherson Oblast: 3 injured, with 40 settlements attacked.
• Sumy Oblast: 1 injured.

Why it matters

The attack follows strikes that knocked out three of DTEK’s five power plants and cut water in parts of Kyiv, as we reported Tuesday. Our Russia-Ukraine War Room update has the wider front-line picture, and the Ukraine War Tracker follows daily attack totals.

In Washington, Democrats’ win of both chambers of Congress could give Ukraine’s backers more say over aid. The State Department approved a possible sale of 500 PAC-3 MSE interceptor missiles on Oct. 30, Newsweek reported, though experts said deliveries could take years. Our analysis of what a Democratic Congress means for foreign policy explains the limits.

Sources

• Kyiv Independent: Russian attacks kill 6, injure 50 across Ukraine
• Newsweek: How the midterms could reshape the Ukraine war