Along with critical infrastructure, civilian gas stations are increasingly being targeted by Russian strikes. Photo by Antonio Graceffo.
It is becoming more difficult to navigate around Kyiv as GPS is being jammed to protect against Russian missile targeting systems. Bridges are now defended by soldiers with heavy machine guns mounted on the backs of trucks. Food distribution centers have been hit, causing some products to be out of stock in grocery stores, while in parts of the country residents are increasingly relying on generators and power banks because of interruptions to municipal electricity grids.
In the past two weeks, Russia has expanded its attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure. On August 5, Russia launched a large-scale drone barrage and ballistic missile attack on Kyiv. At least 17 people were killed and 44 injured in what was described as one of the deadliest attacks on the capital this year. Strikes also hit warehouses, including a facility belonging to the NOVUS supermarket chain.
On August 7, Russia struck seven oil facilities in eastern Ukraine overnight, according to Naftogaz, the state oil and gas company, which said on Telegram that “critical” equipment had been destroyed. Acting CEO Sergiy Fedorenko said Russia was “systematically attacking Ukraine’s oil and gas production sector in an attempt to inflict maximum damage on our infrastructure ahead of winter.” The same day, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces struck two cargo vessels in the Black Sea it said were being used for Ukrainian military purposes, and hit fuel storage facilities at the port of Pivdennyi.
On August 8 and 9, Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported that its forces had struck fuel-energy infrastructure, as well as logistics centers supporting the Ukrainian armed forces. Separate strikes hit the Bugrovatoye gas field in the Sumy region and the Odesa thermal power plant.
On August 16, a Russian missile struck a Kyiv book market. The following day, a large-scale Russian attack knocked out power in five regions: Kharkiv, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Donetsk oblasts. According to Ukrenergo, the state-owned electricity transmission operator, Donetsk Oblast was the worst affected. An energy facility was also damaged in Chernihiv Oblast.
Ukrenergo said emergency repair crews had begun work wherever the security situation allowed. It asked consumers to shift energy-intensive activities to the 10:00–16:00 window and limit electricity consumption between 18:00 and 22:00.
The same day, Russia struck port infrastructure in Odesa’s Izmail district on the Danube, damaging a Togo-flagged civilian vessel and injuring four people. Izmail is Ukraine’s largest Danube port and a key part of the country’s trade and transport network. Its importance has grown since the Black Sea route was largely closed off.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the targets in Izmail included a cargo-unloading terminal, hangars storing Western military equipment, and naval drone depots. Reuters said it could not independently verify the claim.
Ukrainians try their best to reopen their businesses after an airstrike, but the situation keeps getting worse. Photo by Antonio Graceffo.
In a separate strike the same night, Russian forces hit a patrol boat and fuel storage tanks in Odesa.
On August 18, state-run Naftogaz reported that Russian forces had struck its facilities 13 times in the past week alone, with one facility hit multiple times during that period. The company said its facilities had been struck nearly 300 times since January.
Separately, private power company DTEK said Russia struck one of its mines, killing a 52-year-old worker. The Red Cross has said deliberate strikes on essential services and civilian infrastructure can amount to war crimes.
Ukrainian officials describe the campaign as an effort to “weaponize winter,” and fear Moscow will pursue the same strategy through the coming cold season. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russian strikes have killed close to 17,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations.
On August 8, Ukraine’s Strategic Communications Center reported, citing U.S. intelligence, that Russia is preparing a major strike campaign against Kyiv’s energy infrastructure ahead of Ukraine’s Independence Day on August 24. The campaign could draw on Russia’s strategic reserve of ballistic missiles to inflict maximum damage.
Russia began its last seasonal campaign against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in early September 2025. Analysts assess that Moscow may be starting earlier this year to exploit Ukraine’s shortage of ballistic missile interceptors, particularly U.S.-made Patriot systems. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on August 5 that Ukraine is receiving roughly one-third of the interceptor supply it had at the start of 2026.
Kyiv is working to close the air-defense gap by seeking additional Patriot interceptors and collaborating with European partners on new anti-ballistic defense systems. Separately, Ukraine is developing its own ballistic missiles to expand its ability to strike Russian launch sites and other military targets.
According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission, civilian casualties in Ukraine reached their highest level since 2022 in July. At least 437 people were killed and 2,610 injured, representing a 70 percent increase in deaths compared with the same month last year.
Strikes have also hit humanitarian and cultural infrastructure. A World Health Organization warehouse in Dnipro holding emergency medical supplies was struck twice within 24 hours on August 9 and 10. The attacks destroyed roughly $500,000 worth of supplies intended to support an estimated 225,000 people. WHO staff managed to relocate 130 of about 300 pallets before the facility was destroyed.
The WHO has recorded 3,149 attacks on healthcare facilities in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, resulting in 240 deaths. On July 19, a strike on a UNICEF warehouse in the Kyiv region destroyed more than 106,000 aid supplies intended for children and families, at a loss of nearly $3.9 million.
On August 1, a Russian drone strike destroyed roughly eight million books at a publishing warehouse in Kharkiv, damaging the country’s publishing and cultural infrastructure.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the August 6 strikes on Kyiv, which killed 17 people, as part of “an alarming pattern of escalating strikes against populated areas” and “a clear violation of international humanitarian law.”
In the first six months of 2026, the UN confirmed that almost 1,400 Ukrainian civilians were killed and almost 8,000 injured by Russian attacks. OCHA reports that 10.8 million people in Ukraine require humanitarian assistance and 3.8 million remain internally displaced. Twenty-five humanitarian workers were killed in Ukraine in the line of duty in 2025. In May, the UN’s World Food Programme identified 84 incidents it described as “deliberate” Russian attacks on humanitarian warehouses, vehicles, and distribution points.
Guterres also warned that military escalation in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov threatens the global food supply. He called on all parties to protect freedom of navigation and civilian maritime infrastructure.
Antonio Graceffo reporting from Ukraine.
The post Russia Expands Strikes on Ukraine’s Critical Infrastructure appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.