Russia and Ukraine Exchange Strikes on Energy and Drone Infrastructure
Russia launched large-scale attacks on Ukrainian power grids while Ukraine struck Russian drone facilities and oil refineries amid new EU sanctions and U.S. diesel imports.
The Federal Government of Russia resumed large-scale missile and drone attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure in November 2026, targeting power plants and transmission lines to disrupt heat and electricity. In Kyiv, a drone strike on a residential building killed one woman and injured five others, while other strikes hit military factories and electricity substations in the Zhytomyr region. DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko noted that while generation capacity exists, Russian strikes on transmission lines have caused blackouts in Kyiv lasting up to 18 hours a day. Ukraine's defense has been hampered by a global shortage of Patriot interceptors, leading to reduced deliveries from the United States.
Ukraine responded on November 13 by using Neptune missiles to strike drone production and storage facilities in Rostov-on-Don, including sites belonging to Ionos LLC and Aero-Hit LLC. Additionally, Ukrainian drone strikes have disrupted approximately 30% of Russia's oil-processing capacity across the Volga region, Ryazan, and Yaroslavl. These energy strikes coincide with a controversial agreement announced by President Donald Trump for the United States to import Russian diesel, a deal that has faced legal challenges from U.S. senators amid record-high retail diesel prices.
In response to the ongoing aggression, the European Union plans to approve a sanctions package on November 16 targeting 150 entities and 50 banks. French Minister Benjamin Haddad stated that France proposed the bulk of these entities. Tensions between the two nations further escalated after Russia banned several French journalists and lawmakers from entering the country.
