Russia Fires 208 Missiles and Drones at Kyiv, Hits Power Lines From Two Nuclear Plants

What happened

Russia hammered Ukraine's capital with a massive overnight attack. President Zelenskyy said 36 ballistic missiles and 172 attack drones were aimed at Kyiv and the region around it. Ukraine's air force said it brought down 149 of the drones but only four of the missiles, according to Reuters, reporting for NBC News.

The barrage came in waves. The first missiles struck around 11 p.m. on Friday, and explosions were still being heard in the city after 3:30 a.m., the Kyiv Independent reported.

The real target: power

Zelenskyy said energy was the main target again. Missiles hit substations in the Kyiv region that tie the Rivne and Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plants to the capital and to central Ukraine, the Kyiv Post and the Kyiv Independent reported. Ukraine's energy ministry called the damage serious. Substations in several other regions were hit as well.

Kyiv's power, water and heating systems are under strain as nighttime temperatures fall toward freezing. "The capital is facing serious difficulties," Zelenskyy wrote, as quoted by NBC News.

A bridge, a kindergarten, and the toll

Several missiles struck the Northern Bridge over the Dnipro River. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the roadway, trolleybus wires and a power line were damaged, and the bridge was closed in both directions. In the Solomianskyi district, a kindergarten and a five-story apartment building were damaged.

Reuters reported at least two people killed and about a dozen hurt across Ukraine. In Kyiv, at least six were injured, among them a 14-year-old girl, the Kyiv Independent said. Russia's defense ministry said it struck military-industrial, energy and transport targets.

Three days before the talks

Negotiators from the United States, Ukraine and Russia are due to meet in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11. Zelenskyy put it bluntly: "Russia is preparing for trilateral talks by launching ballistics," he wrote, as quoted by the Kyiv Post. This follows a strike on November 3 that the Kyiv Independent called the largest on Kyiv's energy system this year.

Afterlight read

Our view: this is pressure, timed on purpose. Hitting the links between a capital and its power plants right before talks tells the other side the cold is part of the bargaining.

It is also a lesson that reaches far beyond Ukraine. A grid fails at its weak points, the substations and lines between the plant and your home, and when power goes, water and heat often follow. Keep stored drinking water, a safe backup way to stay warm, lights, and a few days of food that needs no cooking. Kyiv's families are living that checklist tonight.