Thick black smoke hangs over residential buildings in Kyiv after a drone strike caused a fire in the area. Photo from the archive UN mission: “Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are exacerbating the suffering of civilians” Human Rights
On the night of October 29-30, Russian armed forces again launched a massive combined attack on several regions of Ukraine, allegedly “targeting critical energy infrastructure.” This was reported on Thursday from the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
Civilians were killed and injured
The night raid was the third major combined attack in October aimed at energy facilities, causing damage to civilian facilities and introducing emergency power outages in several regions of the country.
According to preliminary data, in Zaporozhye at least two civilians were killed and 23 people were injured, including six children. The city was reportedly hit by more than eight ballistic missiles and twenty Shahed-type drones. Civilian casualties were also recorded in the Kyiv and Vinnytsia regions – a seven-year-old girl was killed and five people were injured.
One of the largest attacks on Ukraine
It was one of the largest attacks on Ukraine since February 2022, with 705 munitions reportedly involved. Explosions occurred in several regions, including Kyiv, Zaporozhye, Ivano-Frankivsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Vinnytsia regions.
“If attacks of this scale and frequency continue, there is a serious risk of dangerous consequences for the civilian population this winter, including prolonged interruptions in heating, electricity and water supplies,” said Mission Director Danielle Bell. “These disruptions will have a particularly hard impact on vulnerable groups, including older people, people with disabilities and families with young children, who are least able to cope with the loss of vital services in harsh winter conditions.”The day before, Bell visited the Chernihiv region, where she met with representatives of regional authorities and civil society to discuss the situation in the region, where conditions remain difficult due to ongoing attacks on critical infrastructure ahead of winter. significant efforts to restore damaged facilities, often working in dangerous conditions. In 2025, according to the mission, at least 11 energy industry workers were killed or injured in the line of duty providing vital services to civilians.
Strikes on Russian territory
At the same time, Ukrainian armed forces reportedly responded to Russian long-range attacks with strikes of their own drones and missiles hit energy and industrial facilities in Russia, but the impact of these attacks on civilians cannot be independently verified by the UN Mission.
Heating Outages in Winter
“As winter approaches, attacks on energy infrastructure increase the risk of prolonged power outages heating, electricity and other vital services throughout Ukraine. This will have serious consequences for the population of the country, especially in regions where critical infrastructure is under pressure,” Bell said.