Russia launched its largest assault of the war overnight Friday, striking state-owned Naftogaz's natural gas facilities in northeastern and central Ukraine with missiles and drones, Ukrainian officials said, according to Euro News.
According to Ukraine's air force, Moscow fired 35 missiles -- many of them ballistic -- and more than 60 drones at gas extraction and processing plants in Kharkiv and Poltava. Naftogaz chief Serhii Koretskyi described the barrage as a campaign of "deliberate terror" aimed at crippling Ukraine's energy system ahead of winter.
"It has no military purpose," Koretskyi said. "This is another act of Russian malice, meant solely to deprive Ukrainians of warmth in winter."
Regional authorities reported critical damage to infrastructure, as well as civilian injuries. In Poltava, two women and an eight-year-old child were wounded, while blasts shattered nearly half the windows of the historic St. Nicholas Church, an architectural landmark.
The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed "all designated targets were hit," saying its forces used drones and guided weapons in a coordinated strike.
Since the start of its full-scale invasion in 2022, Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine's power grid during the cold months, seeking to weaponize winter by cutting heat, water, and electricity to civilians. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko accused Moscow of "terrorising civilians and trying to disrupt the heating season."
Ukraine has retaliated with long-range drone strikes on Russian energy facilities. This week, Ukrainian drones hit the Orsk oil refinery nearly 1,400 kilometers from the border and briefly halted operations at the massive Azot chemical plant in Berezniki, more than 1,500 kilometers east of Moscow.
The escalating tit-for-tat underscores how energy infrastructure has become a central battlefield in a war now grinding into its fourth year.