Russia Says It Targeted Two Power Stations and a Cargo Ship Near Odesa
Key Facts
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on November 4 that its forces targeted the Nalivaikivka station in the Kyiv region and the Chyhyivka station in the Zhytomyr region with drones, and also announced a strike on a dry cargo ship in the Black Sea. The ministry said the ship was about 8 kilometers southwest of Odesa and claimed it was carrying military equipment for Ukraine’s armed forces. Ukrainian news agency UNN reported details of the strikes, while Reuters said the same day that the announced attacks followed missile and drone strikes that disrupted electricity across wide areas of Ukraine. The announcement puts energy networks and commercial shipping in the Black Sea within the scope of the attacks described by Moscow. UNN’s report did not independently confirm Russia’s claims about the ship or its cargo.
According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, the Nalivaikivka station has a nominal voltage of 750 kilovolts, and the Chyhyivka station 110 kilovolts. The ministry said drones attacked the two stations, which are in different regions of northern Ukraine. UNN reported that the Ukrainian side had not confirmed the list of facilities Moscow said were hit. The agency added that the extent of the damage and any casualties were still being clarified. The information in the report did not provide a confirmed damage toll for the two stations or say whether they had gone offline.
Moscow’s announcement about the two stations and the ship came as Ukraine’s state-owned power company Ukrenergo said energy facilities had come under more than 20 strikes in 24 hours. According to the Associated Press, a large-scale attack on power plants and substations took place on November 3 in 9 regions, cutting electricity in several areas in and around Kyiv. The agency said overnight attacks on critical infrastructure also caused outages of electricity and water in the capital and surrounding areas on Wednesday morning. Authorities urged residents to use public drinking-water fountains, while emergency centers were set up in the hardest-hit areas to provide hot tea and allow people to charge devices. These events show the broad impact of the attacks on essential services, alongside the targeting of generation and transmission facilities announced by Moscow.
Emergency services and Ukrainian local officials cited by Reuters said the strikes also hit the Poltava, Dnipro, Kirovohrad and Rivne regions, in addition to the capital, Kyiv. In a separate announcement about the November 3 attacks, Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had struck 4 power plants and 2 substations, as well as port infrastructure in Kiliia on the Danube River. The ministry added that it had hit 2 cargo ships, while Reuters said it had been unable to verify the information independently. The ministry also said facilities in the Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions were among the targets, and claimed they supplied electricity to military factories and the Ukrainian army. Those statements remain attributed to Moscow, while Reuters was unable to independently verify its earlier announcement.
In the Black Sea, Russia’s Defense Ministry said the dry cargo ship it had announced targeting near Odesa was carrying military equipment for Ukrainian forces. UNN relayed the claim from the Russian side, noting that there was no independent confirmation of the information. The details provided did not include confirmed information about the ship’s name or damage to it. The announcement came after Moscow said on November 3 that it had hit 2 cargo ships, one in the port of Pivdennyi and the other in the Black Sea, according to Reuters. The agency was also unable to independently verify that announcement.
Officials from the United States, Germany, France, Britain, NATO and the European Union were scheduled to meet in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss security arrangements and Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction, according to the Associated Press. The agency said the meeting would precede a new round of U.S.-brokered peace talks the following week. Reuters reported that peace talks sponsored by Washington were due to resume a week after its report published on November 4. The diplomatic track is unfolding as announced attacks on energy facilities continue and the effects of electricity and water outages in Kyiv and its outskirts widen. The reports gave no details on the outcome of the Brussels meeting or a specific date for the talks beyond the following week.