Russian ballistic missiles hit Kyiv's TEC-4 power plant and a residential building; Ukraine says it received no partner warning
On the evening of 13 October 2026, Russian forces struck Kyiv with ballistic missiles, hitting the TEC-4 combined heat and power plant and a nine-story residential building in the Desnianskyi district. Ukrainian officials said Ukraine received no advance warning from partners through the usual intelligence-sharing channels, and that Ukrainian air defences detected the missiles only as they were approaching the capital. At least one person was killed and multiple others injured in the residential building. The attack followed a similar strike on Kyiv the previous night and came despite a publicly announced energy ceasefire.
Key points
- Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv around 22:40 on 13 October 2026.
- The TEC-4 (CHPP-4) combined heat and power plant in Kyiv was hit.
- A nine-story residential building in the Desnianskyi district was also hit; a fire spread from the 1st to the 8th floor.
- At least one person was killed; reports of the number of injured varied across updates.
- President Zelensky and adviser Dmytro Lytvyn said Ukraine received no advance warning from partners via the usual intelligence channels.
- It was the second consecutive night that Kyiv was struck by Russian missiles without such partner warning.
- The Air Force of Ukraine said the missiles were detected only on approach to Kyiv, and warned that further attacks were not excluded.
Why it matters
The strike hit one of Kyiv's main energy facilities, TEC-4, which Ukrainian reporting says supplies heating and electricity to the Dniprovskyi district and parts of the Darnytskyi district, raising the prospect of disruption to the capital's heating and power supply going into winter. For the second consecutive night, Kyiv was hit by Russian ballistic missiles and Ukrainian officials say they received no advance warning from partners via the usual intelligence channels, a sequence that put the publicly announced energy ceasefire under fresh strain and prompted criticism from President Zelensky that Russia is disregarding understandings referenced by US President Donald Trump. At least one person was killed in the residential building in the Desnianskyi district, with multiple injuries still being tallied in the hours after impact.
What happened
Around 22:40 Kyiv time on the evening of 13 October 2026, Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv. The main target, according to President Zelensky, was the TEC-4 combined heat and power plant, one of the capital's key energy facilities, which was hit in the attack. A nine-story residential building in the Desnianskyi district was also struck; a fire broke out and spread across apartments from the first to the eighth floor, with rescue workers dispatched to the scene. A warehouse building in the same district also caught fire as a result of the attack, and in the Darnytskyi district falling debris landed on the territory of a stadium and ignited the grass. Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko reported the hit on the residential building and the fire. At least one person was killed in the strike on the residential building; initial Kyiv City Military Administration figures cited four injured, with later reports putting the number at 13 injured (10 hospitalised, four in serious condition). Klitschko separately reported six injured, reflecting the conflicting tallies issued in the hours after impact. Zelensky and his communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn said Ukraine received no advance warning from partners about the ballistic missile launches through the usual intelligence-sharing channels, and the Air Force of Ukraine later confirmed the absence of partner information and said the reasons were being established. Zelensky added that the missiles were detected by Ukrainian systems essentially on approach to Kyiv, that this was the second consecutive night such a strike had occurred without partner warning, and that Ukraine supports a halt to strikes on energy infrastructure while Russia continues to target Ukrainian power plants. Zelensky held a phone conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to discuss the strike and the absence of partner warning. Air-raid alerts in Kyiv were announced after the first explosions, as had been the case the previous night, when Russian ballistic missiles also hit the capital.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian outlets centre the story on the hit to Kyiv's TEC-4 and the absence of partner warning, with Zelensky and adviser Dmytro Lytvyn emphasising that the missiles were detected only on approach to the capital and that this was the second night running without such warning. Coverage frames the attack as a violation of the publicly announced energy ceasefire, with Zelensky calling on the world not to stay silent and stating that the facts show Russia is not complying with what US President Donald Trump referenced. Domestic reporting also carries the escalating casualty updates from the Kyiv City Military Administration and the mayor alongside warnings of further possible attacks and Zelensky's appeal for citizens to take care of themselves overnight and into the following day.
How international sources describe it
The English-language international outlet (BBC News) frames the strike around its impact on a key Kyiv power plant, cites Zelensky's account of the hit and the absence of partner warning, and notes Trump's denial that US intelligence sharing has been cut off. The framing adds wider context about speculation that the US had restricted intelligence used to track incoming threats, and Zelensky's claim that six Ukrainian energy sites have been hit since the announced energy ceasefire.
Where reporting differs
Casualty figures from the strike on the nine-story residential building in the Desnianskyi district differ across the reporting aggregated here. ZN.UA records six injured. An initial Kyiv City Military Administration update cited four injured, while a later figure lists 13 injured with 10 hospitalised and four in serious condition. A separate source places the toll at one killed and 13 injured. The numbers are all reported at different points in the hours after impact rather than as contradictory counts of the same moment.
Background
TEC-4 (CHPP-4) is described as one of Kyiv's key energy facilities, reportedly supplying heating and electricity to the Dniprovskyi district and parts of the Darnytskyi district, and has been hit multiple times during the war. The night before the 13 October strike, Russian ballistic missiles also hit Kyiv, and a red-level air-raid alert was announced only after the first explosions. Following Monday night's strikes there had been speculation that the United States had cut off access to key intelligence enabling Ukraine to track incoming threats, a claim Donald Trump denied earlier on 13 October by saying "We are helping them and we are sharing intel." After the 13 October strike, President Zelensky held a phone conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to discuss the attack and the absence of partner warning.