Russian strikes damage Ukrainian energy facilities amid ceasefire dispute

October 13 barrage and ceasefire dispute

Russian missiles and drones damaged 30 energy facilities in an hours-long October 13 attack, leaving at least 600,000 people without electricity, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The attack primarily targeted Kyiv and Kharkiv and came as Russia has particularly stepped up attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure ahead of the winter.

Ukrainian authorities reported intercepting just four of the 39 missiles launched in the October 13 attack.

Associated Press reporting said Ukraine lacked sufficient Patriot ammunition and could not stop Russian ballistic missiles without an adequate supply.

The October 13 barrage came amid a dispute over an energy ceasefire. Donald Trump announced that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to an energy ceasefire. Russia had not confirmed such an agreement, and Zelenskyy said the announcement was news to him.

After Trump’s announcement, Ukraine reported that the October 13 barrage included strikes on energy infrastructure.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine supported an energy ceasefire but argued that Russia’s continuing attacks on power infrastructure showed it had no intention of refraining from strikes. He also said a broader, 60-day ceasefire would allow Ukraine to hold presidential elections.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov rejected giving Ukraine the respite a ceasefire would bring, saying it did not deserve one. He argued that Europe would use a pause to supply Ukraine with new weapons.

Russia’s account and damage in Kyiv

In its account of the October 13 barrage, Russia’s Defence Ministry said it had struck four power plants in and around Kyiv and two in Kharkiv.

The ministry said it launched strikes against Ukrainian military-industrial facilities, logistics centres, railway and port infrastructure.

Zelenskyy said a Russian ballistic strike hit Kyiv’s Darnytska CHP-4 power facility and a residential building. Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported one death and 13 injuries at the apartment block.

Reuters reported that earlier damage to Kyiv’s Darnytska CHP-4 had left more than 1,000 residential buildings without heating and hot water.

Ukrainian strikes inside Russia

Ukraine has also reported attacks inside Russia. Zelenskyy said it struck two oil facilities and a training ground in the Perm, Samara and Astrakhan regions. He described the strikes as responses to Russian attacks on Ukrainians.

Warnings and defence gaps

During the October 13 barrage on Kyiv, Zelenskyy said Ukraine received no early warning from its partners before five Russian ballistic missiles hit civilian infrastructure. Advance allied warnings of ballistic launches can prevent people being killed, he said.

American officials have in the past notified Ukraine so it could use air defences against incoming missiles.

An anonymous senior Ukrainian official told AFP that the United States was helping Russia. Trump denied that intelligence sharing had stopped, saying the United States was helping Ukraine and sharing intelligence.

Kyiv officials cited the absence of missile-launch warnings, reported US threats to halt relevant intelligence and Starlink restrictions as reasons for the accusation. They said those factors reduced Ukraine’s ability to defend against jet-powered drones.

In a separate, more cautious account, The Irish News reported that an anonymous senior Ukrainian official described the missed warning as a failure possibly caused by circumstances such as weather, rather than a deliberate decision.

Zelenskyy also called on Elon Musk to restore Starlink after Kyiv said the service had been slowed. Former Ukrainian defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov subsequently said Starlink’s operation at speeds of up to 160 km/h was being restored.

Zelenskyy called ballistic missiles Ukraine’s greatest air-defence challenge and urged additional defence packages.

Earlier strikes and civilian toll

Earlier, on October 7, Ukrainian officials said an overnight barrage struck Kyiv and at least a dozen other regions. They said it killed at least 21 people, including children. Zelenskyy put the missile count at roughly 70, many of them ballistic; the air force reported about 130 drones, including attack drones and decoys.

In a local casualty update from the same October 7 barrage, Ukrainian authorities said a strike destroyed a five-storey residential building in Pryluky, in the northern Chernihiv region. As rescue operations continued, the State Emergency Service reported that the death toll there had risen to 16, including four children. About 50 people were injured, seven of them children.

On October 10, local officials said five Russian glide bombs struck Zaporizhzhia. They reported at least 20 deaths, including four children, and at least 32 injuries.

The following day, October 11, Ukrainian officials reported six deaths in two cities. Three people were killed at a Kharkiv grocery store, where 20 people were injured.

Ursula von der Leyen accused Russia of deliberately pursuing a strategy of terror intended to make normal life impossible. Ukrainian officials described the campaign as intended to make people fear sleeping, leaving children unsupervised or planning their lives.