Ukraine's Zelensky warns 80% of thermal plants down after Russian strikes

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Saturday that Russia’s overnight strikes have left Ukraine facing a winter with virtually no working thermal power plants, after attacks killed four people including a three-year-old child. Speaking in Belgrade during a regional summit, Zelensky said the latest wave of missile and drone strikes, combined with intensified shelling of frontline communities, had killed 13 people in the past 24 hours. He described the situation as catastrophic, with energy infrastructure across multiple regions heavily damaged.

This crisis comes after months of relentless Russian targeting of Ukraine’s electricity grid, a strategy Moscow has used since October 2022 to cripple civilian morale and force Ukraine into concessions. The winter months are especially vulnerable because demand for heating surges just as temperatures drop below freezing. Ukraine had already been operating with reduced capacity due to earlier strikes, but the latest assaults—reported by local officials to include over 90 missiles and drones—have pushed the grid to the brink. Energy analysts say at least 80% of thermal power plants are now offline, with repair efforts hampered by ongoing shelling and a shortage of spare parts.

The human toll is rising. In addition to the child’s death in Zaporizhzhia, three adults were killed in separate strikes in Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions. Local authorities reported residential buildings and power substations hit, leaving thousands without electricity for hours. Ukrainian energy company Ukrenergo said emergency repairs are underway but warned that stabilizing the grid will require weeks of uninterrupted work—something nearly impossible under constant Russian fire. NATO allies have pledged additional air defense systems, including Patriot batteries, to protect critical infrastructure, but deployment takes time.

What happens next will determine whether Ukrainians endure weeks of blackouts or face a humanitarian catastrophe. The government has begun rolling out contingency plans, including distributing generators and fuel to hospitals and shelters, and urging citizens to prepare for prolonged outages. But with temperatures forecast to drop below zero in coming weeks, even short power cuts could become life-threatening. Zelensky has called for stronger sanctions on Russia and more air defense supplies, saying the strikes are not just about energy—they’re an attempt to break Ukraine’s will before a critical year of war. If the grid collapses, the humanitarian and military consequences will be severe, both domestically and for Europe’s energy security this winter.