Russian drone strikes cut power across eastern Kyiv, hitting key 750 kV substation
Repeated Russian Geran-series drone strikes on Kyiv’s energy infrastructure left almost the entire eastern part of the capital without power, hitting the 750 kV 'Kyivska' substation that transfers electricity from two nuclear plants.
Almost the entire eastern side of Kyiv lost power overnight after Russian forces launched repeated Geran‑4 and Geran‑5 jet‑powered drones at the city’s energy infrastructure, according to local reports early on 4 November. Among the targets was the high‑voltage “Kyivska” 750 kV electrical substation, which transfers electricity from the Rivne and Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plants into the capital.
The strikes left large residential districts without electricity and likely disrupted heating, water pumps, mobile networks and public transport systems that depend on grid stability. Ukrainian authorities had not yet published a full damage assessment by 06:00 UTC but described extensive outages and said emergency crews were working to restore supply.
The attack fits Russia’s pattern of using long‑range drones as relatively cheap precision weapons against fixed power infrastructure. The Geran series, Russia’s designation for loitering munitions believed to be based on Iranian designs, allows Moscow to send waves of explosive drones at substations and power plants from deep inside its own territory or from occupied areas, forcing Ukraine to expend scarce air-defense missiles.
For Kyiv’s civilians, the effect is immediate and physical. Apartment blocks go dark, elevators and electric stoves stop, and hospital backup generators face fresh strain. Schools and workplaces must decide whether to open without reliable heating or internet. Each outage forces families to think again about storing water, charging phones in advance, and how to navigate a winter that may again be shaped by rolling blackouts.
Operationally, the hit on the Kyivska 750 kV node matters beyond city limits. High‑voltage substations are the backbone of Ukraine’s transmission network; losing one restricts how power can be rerouted from nuclear and thermal plants to urban centers. Even temporary disruptions can cause knock‑on instabilities in the grid, making it harder for Ukraine’s energy operator to balance supply and demand across multiple regions already under strain.
Strategically, the renewed focus on power assets shows Moscow using Ukraine’s energy system as a pressure point. Targeting nodes that connect nuclear plants to major cities raises the cost of defending every kilometer of wire and substation, while avoiding the international red line of directly striking the reactors themselves. It also tests Ukraine’s stockpile of air defenses at a time when Western resupply has become slower and more politically contested.
The strikes on Kyiv coincide with reports of Russian attacks on energy infrastructure elsewhere in Ukraine, including in Ternopil district in the west, where regional officials said work was underway to contain damage. Taken together, they point to a campaign aimed at degrading Ukraine’s energy system rather than isolated incidents.
In the coming days, several signals will show how far this attack has shifted the balance. Ukrainian grid operators will detail how quickly they can restore full voltage to Kyiv and whether emergency shutdowns spread to other regions. Air defense commanders will face decisions about whether to thicken the shield around key substations, potentially leaving other assets more exposed. And Russia’s choice to sustain or pause these deep‑strike salvos over the next week will indicate whether Kyiv should prepare for a prolonged energy fight through the winter.
Sources
- OSINT