Kyiv faced widespread damage and disruptions to essential services on November 7 after Russia launched 172 attack drones and 36 ballistic missiles at the Ukrainian capital and other regions, striking energy infrastructure, residential housing, and a major bridge over the Dnipro River.
According to Ukraine's Air Force, the strikes damaged energy facilities, residential buildings, and key transport infrastructure, leaving parts of the capital without electricity, heating, and water supplies.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko described the situation with the city's energy supply as "extremely difficult" following strikes on infrastructure in the Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions.
Several apartment buildings, a kindergarten, and a nonresidential building were also damaged. Five people were injured in Kyiv, including a 14-year-old.
The Northern Bridge -- a major bridge in the capital -- over the Dnipro River was also struck and temporarily closed in both directions.
Klitschko said the attack damaged the road surface, overhead trolleybus power lines, and electricity transmission lines. The blast wave also damaged five trucks parked nearby.
The mayor published a video showing damage the bridge's roadway and safety barriers and said repair work had begun.
Russia's Defense Ministry confirmed the strike, claiming the bridge was used to transport weapons and military equipment for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Elsewhere in the country, Russian strikes on four districts of the Dnipropetrovsk region overnight killed one person and injured four others, including an 11-year-old girl, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service.
Zelenskyy: 'Ukraine Must Not be Left Alone'
In a November 7 Telegram post accompanied by photos showing extensive damage from the overnight strikes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had launched 172 drones and 36 ballistic missiles, all targeting Kyiv and other regions.
He said substations connecting the Rivne and Khmelnytskiy nuclear power plants to Kyiv and Ukraine's central regions were targeted and that additional substations were reportedly damaged in the Vinnytsya, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
Zelenskyy called on Washington to maintain and increase support for Ukraine, urging greater Congressional unity on security issues, condemnation of Russian aggression, and stronger sanctions pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"When Russia is trying to plunge Kyiv -- a city of millions -- and the entire country into a blackout, Ukraine must not be left alone," Zelenskyy wrote.
"America's determination and consistency in supporting Ukraine are of great importance in bringing peace closer," he added.
Russia has resisted calls for a partial or total cease-fire, saying fighting would stop when a comprehensive peace deal is reached. It has stepped up strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, along with attacks on civilian sites, as the potentially brutal winter months approach.
Meanwhile, the death toll from a massive November 2 Russian air strike on an aid center in Komyshuvakha, in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya region, rose 55 after rescuers recovered nine more bodies from the rubble in the past 24 hours.
Ukraine's State Emergency Service said search operations were continuing for a sixth consecutive day despite the threat of further strikes.
Zelenskyy said on November 2 that Russian forces had dropped nine aerial bombs on the settlement, striking a humanitarian aid distribution point and subsequently hitting rescuers and police who arrived at the scene.
Ukraine Strikes Targets Inside Russia
Ukraine has continued its campaign against Russian energy infrastructure and military-industrial facilities, targeting sites Kyiv says help sustain Moscow's war effort.
Overnight on November 6-7, Ukraine carried out strikes on several Russian facilities linked to the oil industry and military production.
Ukraine's General Staff confirmed that its missile forces used Neptune coastal missile systems to strike JSC Proton-Electrotex in Oryol, a Russian military-industrial enterprise producing electronic and optoelectronic components.
The Ukrainian military says the company produces components used in Russia's Iskander-M ballistic missiles and cruise missile systems. Kyiv said the strike could complicate Russian production of weapons used against Ukrainian cities.
Oryol regional authorities reported damage to warehouses and production facilities belonging to commercial enterprises, as well as three private houses.
In Russia's Saratov region, a fire broke out at the Saratov Oil Refinery following a Ukrainian drone attack, according to the independent Russian outlet ASTRA and Ukrainian monitoring channels.
Regional Governor Roman Busargin confirmed damage to civilian infrastructure and said there had been preliminary reports of casualties. Several residential buildings were also reportedly damaged.
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed its air defense systems shot down 411 Ukrainian drones overnight. The figure has not been independently verified.
Trilateral Talks In Abu Dhabi
The latest escalation comes just days before planned trilateral negotiations between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States in Abu Dhabi on November 10–11.
Russia's delegation to the talks will include presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, Deputy Foreign Ministers Sergey Ryabkov, and Mikhail Galuzin, as well as Igor Kostyukov and Yuri Zhigarlovsky of the Russian Armed Forces' General Staff, Interfax reported.
Ukraine's delegation will be led by Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service and a former defense minister, according to Ukrainian media reports. It will also include Presidential Office chief Kyrylo Budanov; David Arakhamia, head of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction; presidential communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn; and Serhiy Kyslytsia, first deputy head of the Presidential Office.
