Kharkiv hospital strike leaves 73 injured as Russian barrage hits power grid

Medical facility was struck by Russian ballistic missiles and aerial bombs overnight.

Nov 3, 2026, 13:40 UTC

A damaged hospital building in Ukraine with shattered windows and debris, emergency personnel working in the background. — REAL NEWS HUB

A barrage of Russian missiles and drones struck Ukrainian cities overnight, severely damaging a hospital in Kharkiv and knocking out electricity networks in multiple regions. At least 73 people suffered injuries in the medical facility strike alone, Ukrainian officials reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Russian forces directly hit a municipal clinical hospital in Kharkiv. The impact damaged the hospital's cardiology ward, where patients were undergoing medical care. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov stated that the bombardment broke more than 1,000 windows across the facility and caused extensive destruction.

Alongside the hospital bombardment, Russian forces targeted Ukraine's power grid in what Zelenskyy called a widespread, coordinated offensive. Attacks focused on electrical generation hubs and substations across nine regions, including Odesa, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Chernivtsi, Chernihiv, and Rivne. According to Ukrainian authorities, Moscow unleashed 289 attack drones, 59 cruise missiles, and 17 ballistic missiles during the overnight operation.

The wave of assaults left more than 180,000 residents without electricity in the Zhytomyr area, according to regional governor Vitalii Bunechko. Meanwhile, authorities in Odesa initiated rolling blackouts to balance the damaged electrical network.

Russia's Ministry of Defence acknowledged targeting power facilities across the Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv areas, maintaining that the selected sites supplied electricity to Ukrainian military units and arms production factories.

The extensive bombardment follows an attack just a day earlier that left 31 people dead at a humanitarian aid distribution hub. Cross-border action also continued inside Russia, where a Ukrainian drone strike ignited a blaze at an oil refinery in Yaroslavl, injuring two workers, according to local governor Mikhail Yevrayev.

The renewed escalation unfolds alongside fresh diplomatic maneuvering by Washington aimed at halting the conflict. United States Special Envoy Steve Witkoff announced that American, Ukrainian, and Russian representatives plan to meet in Abu Dhabi next week to examine humanitarian assistance, de-escalation, and post-war security measures. Ahead of those talks, American diplomats are scheduled to consult with allies from the European Union, NATO, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom in Brussels regarding reconstruction financing and prospective security guarantees for Kyiv.

Earlier on this story

Full coverage: Russian strikes on Ukraine energy infrastructure

Explained: catch up on this storyWhy are Russian strikes still hitting Ukraine's power grid?Russian aerial attacks have battered Ukraine's energy grid, leaving hundreds of thousands without power despite US claims of a mutual energy ceasefire that Moscow never confirmed.Read the explainer →

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