Overnight and into the early hours of October 4th, 2025, Russia launched a large-scale air assault on Ukraine, deploying 109 drones and 3 ballistic missiles, Ukraine's air defense successfully intercepted or suppressed 73 of the drones, however, 3 missiles and 36 drones struck 21 locations across the country, with debris also falling in four additional areas. Separately, Ukrainian People's Deputy Alexei Kuchenrenko criticized the management of the "Ukrenergo" state-owned company, specifically mentioning former head Vladimir Kudrytsky, for inadequate protection of a substation where a transformer valued at $7 million was reportedly destroyed by drones. Kuchenrenko stated that the substation's protection measures, including gabions filled with sand, were insufficient and that the transformer should have been housed within a concrete sarcophagus and protected by anti-drone mesh, according to information posted to Telegram. Kuchenrenko detailed significant delays, contractor changes, and budget increases for the substation's protection project, suggesting mismanagement and potential corruption by "specific officials" within the state-owned company. He indicated that completion terms had been postponed eight times. The drone strike on this substation marks the second such incident at this location in two months. In related historical context, October 4th marks the anniversary of a deadly 1993 standoff in Moscow where nearly 200 people were killed when Russian President Boris Yeltsin ordered army tanks to fire on the legislature during a conflict with the Congress of People's Deputies.
