Russian forces launched an intense missile attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure in six regions on May 8. Half of Ukraine’s power facilities are now out of action, reducing generating capacity to the point where the deficit can’t be covered by imports.

The attack caused significant damage to electricity generation and transmission networks in Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhya, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Vinnytsia, according to Ukraine's Energy Ministry.

"Another massive attack on our energy sector! Electricity generation and transmission facilities in the Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Vinnytsia regions were attacked," said Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko.

Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s national energy provider, warned of potential rolling blackouts between 6pm and 11 pm. Kyiv has also requested emergency assistance from EU nations.

The Ministry urged Ukrainians to conserve electricity during peak hours to help alleviate pressure on the grid. "Saving electricity is the contribution of each of us to victory. Responsible consumption in the morning and evening hours is especially important," read a statement by the ministry.

Ukraine has been under a barrage of missile attacks since January, which intensified in March when Ukraine began to run out of air defence ammunition. Several of Ukraine’s largest power stations have been completely destroyed.

Following the latest large-scale attack on 8 May, the loss of power generation is so significant that energy imports from Europe are not able to fully compensate for the deficit in the power system this winter, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, head of Ukraine's national energy company Ukrenergo told Ukrainska Pravda.

Kudrytskyi said that the restriction of power supply for industrial consumers, announced earlier, "is almost guaranteed", and for household consumers, it "depends on how much energy we will be able to save, voluntarily limiting our energy supply".

"Many important power stations were damaged, including three power stations of the DTEK company and two hydroelectric power plants, so we can really feel this deficit,” Kudrytskyi told Ukrayinska Pravda.

"The damage is quite large-scale, and the loss in power generation is significant. It is so considerable that even power imports from Europe are not able to fully compensate for the deficit in the power system," he added.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said that the strikes were in retaliation for Kyiv's alleged attempts to attack Russian energy infrastructure, Tass reports. A drone war that began in January has escalated as each side targets the other's energy facilities. Ukraine’s power infrastructure is in danger of being destroyed while Russia’s oil refineries have been hit by Ukraine’s drones reducing their output.

"A combined strike was delivered using drones, sea- and air-launched precision weapons, including Kinzhal hypersonic ballistic missiles, targeting Ukraine's energy and military-industrial enterprises," Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed.

The attacks also targeted Ukraine’s military production factories aimed to degrade Ukraine’s capacity to produce military equipment and hinder its ability to deploy Western-made weapons to the frontline.

The nationwide air raid alerts began around 4am, lasting more than two hours before a second alert was issued just 20 minutes later. Explosions were reported in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and the regions of Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Poltava, Zaporizhzhya, and Kherson, prompting power and water outages in various areas.

Ukrenergo confirmed that key equipment at one of its central power facilities was damaged, while the DTEK energy holding reported severe damage to three thermal power plants.

In response to the strikes, Poland and its allied forces scrambled warplanes after detecting active Russian aircraft operations.

As power engineers worked to restore energy supplies, Halushchenko reiterated the importance of responsible consumption during peak hours to support efforts toward recovery and stability.

The dispatch centre of Ukrenergo is already restricting energy supplies to industry and businesses between 6pm and 11pm.