Most Ukrainian‑Held Donetsk to Go Without Heat as Russian Strikes Hit Energy and Logistics
Over 60% of Ukrainian‑controlled Donetsk Oblast will have no heating this winter, regional officials say, while Russian drones and missiles keep hitting warehouses, logistics hubs, and other targets from Kyiv to Dnipro.
Large parts of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk Oblast are heading into winter without central heating as Russian forces keep attacking energy and logistics targets across the country.
The head of the Donetsk regional administration says more than 60% of the territory under Ukrainian control will be without heating this winter. Efforts are centered on Slovyansk and Kramatorsk, where local authorities are trying to get systems ready for the heating season and are giving these two key regional centers priority over other towns and villages.
Areas that sit too close to the front are considered too risky or too damaged to restore heating. Residents there face winter in homes that may already be battered by shelling and with limited options for alternative heat.
At the same time, Russian forces are continuing night attacks. On the western outskirts of Kyiv, a warehouse complex was hit in the aftermath of overnight Russian Geran‑4 jet‑drone strikes.
In Dnipropetrovsk region, officials report that drones attacked the city of Dnipro and the Samara area. The roof of a private house and nearby garages caught fire, three people were injured, and critical infrastructure sites also burned.
In the Bucha district of Kyiv region, emergency services say logistics infrastructure was hit. The fire there has been localized, and initial reports point to one person injured.
Ukraine’s air defenses intercepted most of the incoming drones and missiles in the latest wave. Military reporting states that zero of two Kh‑35 cruise missiles were shot down and that 105 out of 128 hostile drones were destroyed. Even so, there were confirmed impacts from air‑attack assets at 18 locations, and debris from downed drones fell on nine more sites.
For civilians, the combined effect is harsh. People in Slovyansk and Kramatorsk are waiting to see whether repairs and backup systems can be put in place, while those in smaller communities prepare for freezing temperatures without district heat and under constant air‑raid alerts. The elderly, children, and those with medical conditions are especially exposed.
For Ukraine’s leadership, repeated strikes on warehouses, logistics sites, and urban infrastructure around Kyiv and Dnipro aim to stretch repair teams and force tough choices about where to send limited resources.
Signals that will show how this winter is unfolding include the pace of heating repairs in Slovyansk and Kramatorsk, any further expansion of zones officially left without heat, and whether Russian targeting continues to focus on energy and logistics nodes or shifts again toward other objectives.
Sources
- OSINT