Ukraine, missiles strike Kyiv: energy infrastructure hit. Pistorius: ‘Germany can no longer supply Patriot systems’

The mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that at least five people had been injured in the capital, including a 14-year-old girl. Two people were taken to hospital. The shelling damaged residential buildings, caused fires and struck a nursery in the Solomianskyi district.

We also reached the North Bridge, which spans the River Dnipro and is one of the capital’s main road links. According to Klitschko, the structure has been damaged by missiles and closed to traffic in both directions, whilst engineers are assessing its safety.

The situation regarding energy supplies is particularly serious. “Following an enemy attack overnight, energy infrastructure in the Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions has been damaged . The situation regarding the capital’s energy supply is extremely difficult,” the mayor said on Telegram.

The disruption to the electricity network is also affecting other essential services, starting with water supply and heating. Emergency teams have been deployed to the affected neighbourhoods to assist residents, secure buildings and begin repairs.

The most sensitive aspect of the offensive concerns the electricity transmission system. According to Zelensky, Russian missiles struck a substation in the Kyiv region that connects the Rivne and Khmelnytskyi nuclear power stations, located in western Ukraine, to the capital and the central regions of the country.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Energy has confirmed serious damage to the infrastructure used to transmit the electricity generated by the two power stations. Other substations have been damaged in the regions of Vinnytsia, Žytomyr, Rivne, Kharkiv and Dnipro.

Based on the information available, these are not direct attacks on nuclear reactors, but on the infrastructure required to feed the energy produced by the power stations into the grid and distribute it.

“Energy infrastructure has once again been the main target”, Zelenskyy stated, adding that, in addition to Kyiv, the offensive had affected twelve other Ukrainian regions.

According to the Ukrainian president, Russian forces deployed a total of 36 ballistic missiles and 172 drones, concentrating all the missiles on the capital and the surrounding region. The country’s Air Force reported that, of the 172 long-range attack drones, 137 were jet-powered. The military authorities also reported the use of various missile systems, including the Iskander-M, Zircon, KN-23 and S-400.

According to the figures released by Kyiv, the air defence system intercepted 149 drones, including 117 jet-powered ones, and four missiles. Drone strikes were recorded in 24 locations, whilst damage caused by falling debris was reported in a further ten.

The Russian Ministry of Defence has claimed responsibility for the operation, stating that it targeted energy, industrial and transport infrastructure which, according to Moscow, was being used to support the activities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In particular, the ministry stated that the North Bridge in Kyiv was being used to transport weapons, military vehicles and equipment.

Russian forces have also stated that they struck the Meridian plant , linked to the company Korolev Meridian, which Moscow claims is involved in the production of Ukrainian Flamingo cruise missiles.

Other targets claimed include the Trypilska thermal power station, also known as Tripolskaya, and the Kievskaya electrical substation, in the capital region. The Russian ministry also reported attacks on other industrial and energy infrastructure, including a substation in the Zhytomyr region.

Finally, Moscow claims to have struck a cargo ship in the Black Sea, south-east of Odessa, accusing it of carrying military equipment and dual-use goods destined for Ukraine.

At the same time, Ukraine also carried out attacks on Russian territory. In the Saratov region, on the Volga, a drone raid targeted a major oil refinery, where a fire broke out. The flames broke out inside the plant following the attack. The regional governor Roman Busargin confirmed damage to several buildings and civilian infrastructure. Local authorities also reported possible casualties.

The Saratov refinery, owned by the Russian oil group Rosneft, is a key target in Ukraine’s strategy to strike at Russian refineries and energy infrastructure. The military objective of these operations is to disrupt fuel supplies and increase the economic and logistical costs of the war for Moscow.

The Ukrainian attacks have also affected other Russian regions, including Oryol and Rostov, where fires and damage to industrial facilities have been reported. In Belgorod, the Russian authorities have reported further consequences of the drone attacks.

The Russian Ministry of Defence has reported that, overnight, anti-aircraft systems shot down a total of 411 Ukrainian drones over various regions of the Federation, the occupied Crimea and areas of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov . This figure, too, cannot be independently verified.

The military escalation comes just a few days before a new diplomatic attempt. On Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 November, trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States are scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi – the first in this format since last February.

The Kremlin has officially announced the composition of the Russian delegation, which will be led by presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky, who played a key role in previous negotiations. He will be joined by the Deputy Foreign Ministers Sergei Ryabkov and Mikhail Galuzin, along with two senior representatives of the Russian General Staff: Igor Kostyukov, head of military intelligence, and Yuri Zhigarlovsky, deputy director of the General Staff’s Main Operational Directorate, responsible for military operations planning. Ryabkov’s participation is a new development compared with previous meetings. Amongst his other responsibilities, the deputy minister oversees relations with the Americas, arms control and issues relating to nuclear non-proliferation.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the Interfax news agency that presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov will oversee the negotiations without being a direct member of the delegation.

On Friday evening, the five Russian representatives attended a meeting convened by President Vladimir Putin with the permanent members of the National Security Council, which was also devoted to preparations for the talks in the United Arab Emirates. During the public part of the meeting, Putin thanked the Emirates for their willingness to host the talks. The rest of the meeting took place behind closed doors.

Today, 7 November, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, quoted by TASS, stated: “The Europeans have no place at the negotiating table on Ukraine”. “It is absolutely clear that the West remains unwilling to address Russia’s legitimate security concerns and is fuelling the spiral of escalation,” she added, referring to the military exercises by the so-called ‘Willing’ coalition.

In his address following the bombings, Zelenskyy directly linked the Russian offensive to next week’s diplomatic meeting. The president accused Moscow of seeking to plunge Kyiv – a capital city with a population of over three million – and the rest of the country into darkness, whilst it prepares to take its place at the negotiating table.

“Whilst Russia is seeking to plunge Kyiv, a city of millions, and the entire country into darkness, Ukraine must not be left alone”, he said, calling for increased US assistance. Zelensky also called for greater attention from the US Congress, arguing that the intensification of Russian attacks makes it necessary to maintain military and political support for Kyiv.

This appeal comes at a delicate time for the political balance in Washington, following the mid-term elections on 3 November. The new composition of Congress could affect the prospects for US aid to Ukraine, although – as several analysts point out – the concrete effects will depend on legislative decisions and choices made by the Trump administration.

Meanwhile, according to the Polish Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, Poland could resume relations with Russia once the conflict in Ukraine has ended. “We will restore these relations,” he said during the programme *SprawdzamTo*, in response to a question about the development of relations with Russia following the end of the conflict in Ukraine.

Warsaw, specifically, could resume ‘some form of’ dialogue with Russia once the conflict in Ukraine has ended, but relations will not return to what they were before the war broke out, the minister added. Earlier, Sikorski had urged European allies to close Russian consulates due to alleged ‘hybrid attacks’ carried out by Russia.

Since the start of the war in Kyiv, both the Polish government and the opposition have repeatedly expressed support for the Ukrainian position, calling on Moscow to make concessions to resolve the conflict. Throughout the conflict, Poland has supported Ukraine both financially and by supplying weapons. It has also helped to train Ukrainian troops on its own territory and sent instructors to Ukraine.