War

One thousand three hundred fifty-fifth day. Russia attacked substations feeding Ukrainian nuclear power plants. A blackout occurred in Kyiv

Since February 24, 2022, Meduza has been broadcasting live about the Russian-Ukrainian war. We publish your letters in our daily materials because we are sure that we need to continue talking about the war. Share with us the thoughts you have about the war. What feelings are you experiencing? How does war affect you, your life, the lives of your loved ones and your attitude towards the world? Find the feedback form at the end of this article. You can read the previous day's review here .

On November 8, Russia launched one of the most massive attacks on Ukraine’s energy system since the start of a full-scale war. According to the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, during the attack, Russian troops used 458 drones (of which 300 were Shahed attack drones) and 45 missiles of various types. Ukrainian air defense forces shot down 406 drones and nine missiles. The target of the attack was energy infrastructure in five regions.

According to the Financial Times, the large-scale attack was aimed at substations supplying two nuclear power plants in Ukraine - the Khmelnitsky and Rivne nuclear power plants.

“Russia is deliberately jeopardizing nuclear security in Europe,” said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga. He called for an urgent convening of the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“We also urge all states that value nuclear security, especially China and India, to demand that Russia stop reckless attacks on nuclear power that could lead to catastrophic incidents. Global pressure is needed to force Moscow to stop its nuclear blackmail,” Sibiga said.

The state-owned Ukrainian energy generating company Centrenergo reported that due to Russian attacks, the operation of both of its thermal power plants - Trypilska Thermal Power Plant in the Kiev region and Zmievskaya Thermal Power Plant in the Kharkov region - was stopped.

Centerenergo stated that Russia dealt the most massive blow to the thermal power plant since the beginning of the war. “An unprecedented number of missiles and countless drones—several per minute—were targeted at the same thermal power plants we rebuilt after the devastating 2024 attack ,” the company said.

Stations are on fire! Our thermal power plants are not military installations. We don't make weapons! We employ civilians. We stopped... Now there is zero generation. Zero! We lost what we were restoring around the clock. Fully!

DTEK, the country's largest energy company, said one of its thermal power plants was damaged in the attack.

After a massive strike by the Russian Armed Forces, power outages occurred in several cities of Ukraine, including Kyiv, Kharkov, Kremenchug and Chernigov. The State Border Service of Ukraine said that due to the outage, the customs clearance database was blocked, so traffic across the border was stopped for several hours.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, commenting on the strike, said that Ukrainian air defense forces were able to shoot down some of the missiles launched by Russia, but “it is very difficult, of course, to counter ballistic and aeroballistic missiles.”

“Only a few systems in the world can effectively shoot down such missiles, and to cover our entire territory requires significantly more systems, significantly more missiles for these systems. We are working with partners, with America, to buy additional Patriots, we really count on support,” said the President of Ukraine.

The CEO of the energy company DTEK, Maxim Timchenko, previously said that Russia is seeking to plunge Ukraine into darkness. “Judging by the intensity of the attacks over the past two months, it is clear that Russia is seeking the complete destruction of Ukraine’s energy system,” he said.

War through the eyes of Meduza readers

How we choose letters

Meduza's readers live in different countries and have different attitudes towards the war. We publish your letters to see this event through your eyes. Our editors try to present all points of view, even if they do not coincide with the editorial position. However, in accordance with the Meduza code, we do not publish messages that contain “hate speech,” justify the murder of civilians, or express direct support for an aggressive war.

Vitaly (Ukraine). Disappointment is the strongest feeling I feel when I think about war. Of course, millions of people experience stronger emotions when thinking about this war (and for many it is a matter of life and death), and disappointment may seem like something trivial.

But what else can you feel when you realize that the war really could have been prevented? What else can you feel when you realize that Ukraine has turned into the same corrupt dictatorship with which it is fighting?

When do you realize that the war has become a bloody social elevator on both sides of the front line, and many people do not hesitate to climb it, making huge money along the way?

As a person who grew up in the USSR, I am disappointed that people who read the same books and watched the same films turned into sworn enemies...

All wars start because of power - someone always wants more power, and this is the true reason for all wars in the history of mankind. And the most disappointing thing is that people are willing to kill each other just so that the one who sent them to war will gain even more power.

Share your thoughts about the war

"Jellyfish"