Over a million affected in Ukraine as Russia targets power facilities

Russia attacked electrical power facilities in much of Ukraine, including the country's largest hydroelectric plant, causing widespread outages and killing at least five people, officials said Friday.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said more than 60 drones and about 90 rockets were used in the attack.

The attack came a day after Russia launched 31 missiles in a single attack on the capital. 

It was the largest assault on Ukraine's energy infrastructure this year and one of the largest since the outbreak of the war, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Even last winter, attacks on our energy system were not as large as they were this night, said the head of energy utility Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi.

Last winter, Russia deliberately targeted Ukraine's energy infrastructure, resulting in frequent blackouts across the country. 

Many had warned that Russia might repeat this strategy ahead of this winter. 

But instead, Russia has launched massive missile and drone attacks primarily directed at Ukraine's defense industry.

Every large-scale air attack depletes Ukraine's capabilities to repel Russian missiles. 

Zelenskyy has been urging Ukraine's Western allies for weeks to provide additional air defense systems and ammunition amid delays in aid from the U.S.

With Russian missiles, there are no delays, like with aid packages to our state. Shaheds don't have indecisiveness, as do some politicians. 

The attacks caused a fire at the Dnipro Hydroelectric Station, which supplies electricity to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe's largest nuclear power installation.

The main external power line to the plant was cut off, International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi said early Friday, but Ukraine's nuclear energy operator said it was restored several hours later.

The plant is occupied by Russian troops, and fighting around the plant has been a constant concern because of the potential for a nuclear accident.

The dam at the hydroelectric station was not in danger of breaching, the country's hydroelectric authority said. 

Three people were killed and at least eight injured in the Russian attack, said Zaporizhzhia regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov.