As Americans went to the polls in one of the most consequential midterm elections in decades, Russia was once again raining missiles and drones across Ukraine, killing civilians, destroying hospitals and deliberately targeting the infrastructure millions depend upon to survive the approaching winter.
The contrast could hardly have been more striking, while American voters delivered a devastating rejection of Donald Trump’s Republican Party, Ukrainians were counting their dead, treating the injured and desperately trying to restore electricity and water to its population.
According to Ukrainian regional authorities, Russian attacks killed at least 38 people and injured another 167 across the country over the reporting period covered on 3 November. The death toll included the aftermath of a devastating Russian bombing of Komyshuvakha in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, where at least 31 people were reported killed.
President Zelenskyy highlighted the timing of the attacks, coinciding with the US midterm elections, saying yesterday:
“It is very telling that all of this is happening on the day of the US congressional elections. The Russians believe that America will not notice this signal from them, but such terror must be noticed and stopped.”
Russia’s latest coordinated assault involved 289 drones, 59 cruise missiles and additional ballistic weapons, striking energy infrastructure across nine Ukrainian regions. Hospitals, residential buildings and essential civilian facilities were also damaged.
Here in Dnipro, I witnessed part of that assault myself.
Shortly after 3am, Russian attacks began, from approximately two kilometres away, I watched and filmed as a local power station came under attack in a multilayered strike. The explosions were enormous, and the consequences extended far beyond the immediate target.
I have deliberately withheld footage that could compromise operational security, but what I witnessed deserves to be documented as evidence.
In Dnipro, two people were reported killed and 20 injured in the morning missile attack. A hospice was destroyed, forcing approximately 50 terminally ill patients to be relocated, while in Kharkiv, another medical facility came under attack, with dozens injured.
Just days earlier, on 26 October, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluded that Russia’s systematic attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure constituted war crimes and crimes against humanity, with its findings described a deliberate state policy to deprive civilians of electricity, heating and other essential services, causing widespread suffering.
Russia’s response?
More missiles, more drones and more attacks on the very infrastructure the United Nations had identified.
This is not simply battlefield necessity, it’s a campaign designed to make civilian life unbearable, particularly as winter approaches, meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Trump’s political fortunes were collapsing.
The Democrats seized control of both the House of Representatives and Senate, delivering one of the most significant midterm defeats for Republicans in generations. Historic Democratic victories in states including Texas, Kansas and South Carolina exposed the scale of the political backlash, particularly across traditionally Republican heartlands.
He lies constantly and is so sheltered by privilege that he can ignore his own voters, lose dismally, and still tell himself it’s their fault.
Absolute denial. https://t.co/jOM8X2UHcO
— Shaun Pinner (@ShaunPinnerUA) November 4, 2026
Despite the scale of the defeat, Trump appeared unwilling to accept personal responsibility, telling Fox News: “I thought they’d do better.”
He later insisted: “But I don’t view it as a hit on me.”
On Truth Social, Trump went further, declaring:
“I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!”
Comparisons with the Republican disaster of 1974, following Watergate, are inevitable, although the final scale of the losses will determine whether that historical benchmark has genuinely been surpassed.
For Ukraine, the implications could be considerable, because for two years, Trump has repeatedly undermined confidence in American support for Ukraine, questioned its leadership and pursued diplomacy that, in my assessment, has too often shielded Vladimir Putin from meaningful consequences.
From roughly 2km away, I managed to film some of this morning’s attacks on Dnipro. I’ve redacted anything that could be restricted, but I think it’s vital that the world sees Russian barbarism for what it is.
This week, the UN reported Russian crimes against humanity. Russia’s… pic.twitter.com/a3zvvYzCh0
— Shaun Pinner (@ShaunPinnerUA) November 3, 2026
Now, following the disastrous Republican midterms, Trump is effectively a lame-duck president, politically weakened and facing a Congress that could significantly challenge his approach to Ukraine.
A Democratic-controlled Congress could change that equation, strengthening congressional oversight, challenging restrictions on military assistance and applying greater pressure for tougher sanctions against Moscow, but, Ukraine should not mistake electoral victory for immediate military assistance. Trump remains president, retains considerable executive authority and can continue obstructing policy, which I am sure he will.
Nevertheless, the political message from American voters is unmistakable, Trump’s grip on Washington has weakened dramatically, “The Blue-nami” as it’s now being called.
Whether that translates into stronger support for Ukraine remains to be seen, but from Dnipro, where I watched Russian weapons striking our energy infrastructure as Americans prepared to vote, one thing is clear.
We do not lack evidence of Russian war crimes, we currently lack the political determination to turn that evidence into accountability. America now has an opportunity to demonstrate that its commitment to Ukraine is stronger than the political ambitions of one president.
Because there can be no lasting peace without justice.
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