Russian Strikes Kill Civilians, Cause Nationwide Outages

On Oct. 22, Russian forces launched large-scale drone and missile strikes across at least eight Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia, killing at least six to seven civilians — including children — and wounding dozens. Officials said waves of hundreds of strike and decoy drones plus missiles hit energy infrastructure and residential buildings, and a kindergarten in Kharkiv was struck while many children were evacuated to shelter. The bombardment triggered widespread power outages across the country and prompted rolling blackouts ahead of winter. Ukrainian forces reported counterstrikes, including use of Franco‑British Storm Shadow long-range missiles against Russian positions. Diplomatically, a planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin was put on hold or canceled, with the White House saying there were no immediate plans for a meeting, and the U.S. announced sanctions on major Russian oil companies while Ukrainian leaders pressed for tougher sanctions and delivery of long-range weapons.