Ukraine: 130 drones and seven missiles in one night, with strikes on energy and port infrastructure in the Odesa region

Russia launched 130 attack drones and seven missiles at Ukraine overnight into Wednesday, November 4, striking energy and port infrastructure in the Odesa region. Ukrainian air defences shot down or electronically neutralised 92 drones, but missile strikes were recorded and 31 drones fell at 14 locations.

The Ukrainian Air Force said the Russians fired one Iskander-M ballistic missile from the Rostov region and six S-300 anti-aircraft missiles from the Kursk region. Of the 130 drones, about 80 were Shaheds. They were launched from the Russian areas of Kursk, Oryol and Primorsko-Akhtarsk, and from Cape Chauda in occupied Crimea. Interceptions or electronic neutralisation took place in the north, south and east of the country.

Two waves against Odesa

The Odesa region was hit by two successive waves of drone attacks, which damaged civilian, energy and port facilities. “The enemy attacked again massively the energy and port infrastructure of the Odesa region,” governor Oleh Kiper wrote on his official Telegram channel. The strikes caused fires and damage to roads, industrial buildings and equipment. Emergency crews put out the fires and began recording the damage. Kiper said there were no dead or injured and that the strikes did not cause power outages in the region.

Ukraine’s Energy Ministry confirmed damage to energy facilities in the Odesa region and that repair crews are working to restore them. Scheduled limits on electricity use were announced for Wednesday in several regions, with hourly outages from 8 to 11 in the morning and from 3 in the afternoon to 10 in the evening, as well as limits for industrial consumers. Odesa’s ports and power grid remain critical for sea exports and the country’s electricity supply.

Tuesday’s big attack and the negotiations

The strike followed a much bigger Russian missile and drone attack on Tuesday, November 3, which targeted electricity generation and transmission across Ukraine. It included 289 drones, 17 ballistic and 59 cruise missiles, Ukrainian officials said. Several energy facilities were seriously damaged, while three DTEK thermal power plants were knocked out of operation.

Ukraine, Russia and the US are preparing for a new round of talks on November 10 and 11 in Abu Dhabi, as we reported in Witkoff’s announcement. Volodymyr Zelensky is calling for a ceasefire, including an end to attacks on energy infrastructure, as a first step towards a wider settlement. Speaking in Berlin on Tuesday, he said the ceasefire can be implemented without an immediate meeting of the two leaders, and warned that Moscow’s continuing attacks undermine the prospects of meaningful negotiations. Kyiv repeatedly asks Western partners to speed up deliveries of air-defence systems and missiles as Russia intensifies strikes on the power grid.