Following a strike on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, Reuters reports that half a million people in the Kharkiv region were left without heating on Christmas Day, with temperatures hovering just above freezing.
Meanwhile, power outages were also reported in the capital, Kyiv, and other areas, as Russian forces continue their assault on Ukraine’s energy sector.
Since the spring of this year, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, damaging nearly half of the country’s power generation capacity and causing prolonged power outages.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as “inhumane,” accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of intentionally launching the assault on Christmas Day.
“Today, Putin deliberately chose Christmas to strike. What could be more inhumane? Over 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and more than a hundred attack drones,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.
He noted that there were strikes and power outages in several regions, emphasizing that the objective of the attacks was Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. “They continue to fight to disrupt our electricity,” he stated.
Ukraine’s Minister of Energy, German Galushchenko, confirmed that the transmission system operator had imposed electricity restrictions to minimize the impact of the attacks.
At least three people were injured in a missile strike in Kharkiv, in the northeastern part of Ukraine, according to the city’s mayor, Ihor Terekhov.
“Kharkiv is under a massive missile attack. A series of explosions were heard in the city, and there are still ballistic missiles heading towards the city,” Terekhov wrote on Telegram early on Wednesday.
The Governor of Kherson region also reported on Wednesday that one person had been killed in the last 24 hours. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, a search and rescue operation following Christmas Eve strikes revealed that a 43-year-old man had been killed and 17 others were injured, said Dnipropetrovsk Governor Sergiy Lysak.
Since the start of the war in February 2022, Russia has heavily damaged Ukraine’s electrical grid through continuous bombardments, nearly halving its power generation capacity and causing regular power disruptions.
Ukraine has repeatedly urged its allies to provide more robust air defense systems to protect the country’s energy infrastructure from Russian attacks.
