Hundreds of thousands of homes across Ukraine were left without power overnight into Friday, 16th October, following yet another night of Russian bombardment.
At least 15 people were injured overnight – the latest in a steep rise in civilian casualties in recent weeks.
Putin Back in March of 2025 at Desk Creative Commons Image.
Putin in 2023 Image Credit Creative Commons
The strikes came as tensions remain between the United States and Ukraine, one week after Washington and Moscow agreed to a surprise diesel deal.
Energy Attacks
Over the past month, Russia has increasingly attacked non-military targets, including energy facilities and civilian infrastructure.
It’s been an annual feature of Moscow’s full-scale invasion, with Russian artillery and drones targeting energy infrastructure in a bid to wear down civilian morale by cutting access to heating during the freezing winter months.
Ukrainian officials are reportedly concerned Russia is stockpiling ballistic missiles to ramp up attacks on energy infrastructure in the forthcoming months.
The strikes follow a short-lived energy ceasefire that ended as quickly as it began.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire in a Truth Social post on Sunday, 11th October.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country “immediately supported the idea of an energy ceasefire,” but the next day, Russia struck six energy facilities, raising questions about whether Moscow would abide by it.
Kyiv had refrained from retaliating at Washington’s request, but the restriction lifted just three days after the energy ceasefire was announced. “The block is out. We’re done,” Zelensky said on the truce in an interview with the Financial Times.
Civilian Casualties Rising
In addition to attacks on energy facilities, Russia has struck civilian infrastructure such as apartment buildings, public transport, cargo ships, data centers, and grocery stores.
This, according to a United Nations report published today (Friday, 16th October), saw at least 328 civilians killed in September, with 2,105 more wounded, marking an 85% increase on the same month in 2025.
The velocity of such attacks has continued into October, with dozens of civilians, including children, already killed by Russian strikes.
“The first two weeks of October were among the deadliest periods for civilians in years,” said Danielle Bell, head of the U.N.’s human rights office.
U.S.-Ukraine Dispute Escalating
Tensions have been rising between the leaders of the U.S. and Ukraine over the past week after Trump announced a surprise deal to release Russian diesel onto the U.S. and global markets.
The U.S. President has also publicly called for Zelensky to resign last weekend.
The spat between the leaders of the U.S. and Ukraine has continued throughout the week. Trump has reiterated the criticism of his Ukrainian counterpart, telling Newsmax that “Zelensky is not a good guy for us to deal with.”
The Ukrainian President has returned jibes, telling Piers Morgan on his Uncensored program that he felt “betrayed” by the U.S. President.
At a European Union summit in Belgium on Friday, Zelensky thanked the EU for its support, calling them “real leaders.”
“We want to end this war as [quickly] as possible,” he told reporters in Brussels. “We don’t see any signals from [the] Russian side that they are ready for this, to end this war. That’s why we have to prepare for winter.”
Starshield Restored
A key story of the week has been the Starshield saga. Starshield, the military-grade version of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, was restricted to speeds of 43mph in the early hours of Wednesday morning, rendering Ukrainian drones effectively redundant against a Russian ballistic missile attack.
At least nine people were killed in the Russian strikes – the second in succession to have taken place without warning from Western allies.
On Friday, Zelensky described the restrictions as a “dangerous and unpleasant surprise,” adding the speeds required to take down Russia’s 250mph jet-powered drones were being restored.
“Have they returned to previous speed limits? No. But is it coming back? Yes,” he told reporters at a news conference.
Questions remain, however, about who decided to limit the technology’s speed.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who also called for Zelensky to resign, said the technology’s systems are owned and controlled by the U.S. government, with decisions to limit speed or usage made “by the U.S. military and ultimately POTUS (President of the United States).”
About the Author: Shay Bottomley
Shay Bottomley is a British journalist. He has written for the Western Standard, Business Insider, Maidenhead Advertiser, Slough Express, Windsor Express, Berkshire Live and Southend Echo.
