The night over Kyiv turned to fire once again. In a wave of around 20 ballistic missiles fired in just fifteen minutes, accompanied by drones, the Russian army struck the Ukrainian capital - and once more the most vulnerable target was hit: the energy infrastructure heading into winter.

The toll is heavy. At least 8 dead - seven in Kyiv, one in the Bucha region - and over 34 injured. A hydroelectric plant in Vyshhorod was hit, along with residential buildings across the city and parts of Bucha and Irpin. Power and water cuts hit parts of the Kyiv region, and thick black smoke covered a large part of the city. The strikes also spread to Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad and Vinnytsia.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that rescue crews are pulling people from the rubble, and the search under the debris continues. This is not the first attack of this kind and, sadly, it won't be the last - targeting power and water ahead of the cold months has become a recognisable tactic in this war.

Behind the numbers there is always something the numbers don't say. Eight dead is not a statistic; it is eight families for whom the war stopped being news on a screen and became a hole in the home. From this distance it is easy for Ukraine to become just a headline among other headlines. But anyone who remembers what it's like when the sirens wail over your own city - and the Balkans remember - knows that behind every „damaged infrastructure“ sit ordinary people who want only one more quiet night.