Russia launched a fresh wave of overnight attacks against Ukraine’s energy sector, its railway network and residential buildings, killing at least four people, Prime Minister Serhii Koretsky said on Wednesday, October 21, 2026.
The strikes came as Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo, Norway, the previous day and prepared to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg.
Residential Blocks Hit in Kyiv and Kharkiv
In the capital, Kyiv, strikes damaged a 24-storey apartment building, killing at least two people, according to the prime minister.
In the Kharkiv region, two people were killed and 11 others wounded when a strike hit residential houses. A shopping centre was also damaged in Uman, in central Ukraine.
Attacks were reported in western Ukraine as well, a region far from the front line that had so far been spared more than other parts of the country.
Power Infrastructure Targeted Across Four Regions
The strikes against the energy network hit sites in the Kyiv, Volyn, Odesa and Mykolaiv regions, officials said.
- Kyiv region: energy facilities struck, with emergency power cuts ordered in parts of the capital
- Volyn, in the west: infrastructure targeted
- Odesa, in the south: energy sites hit
- Mykolaiv: facilities damaged in the attack
Energy company DTEK said rolling blackouts had been introduced in some districts of the capital as a result of the damage.
Strikes Land as Diplomacy Intensifies
The bombardment underscores the fragility of Ukraine’s power system as winter approaches and as Washington pushes a renewed diplomatic track. Witkoff’s meeting with Zelensky in Oslo and his planned talks with Putin in St Petersburg signal a fresh attempt to revive negotiations, even as fighting continues across the country.
Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly warned that Russia is seeking to cripple the country’s generating capacity and rail logistics ahead of the cold season, forcing emergency repairs and scheduled outages for millions of civilians.
