On Christmas Day, December 25th, the Ukrainian Minister of Energy and local officials reported that the country’s energy system and eastern cities were subjected to large-scale cruise missile and ballistic missile attacks by Russia.
In the north-eastern region of Kharkiv in Ukraine, Governor Oleh Syniehubov stated that at least six people were injured during the missile attacks by Russia on the morning of that day.
The Ukrainian Air Force confirmed that Kharkiv was hit by Russian ballistic missile attacks. Syniehubov posted on the social media platform Telegram that “civilian non-residential infrastructure has been damaged.”
Additionally, Serhiy Lysak, the Governor of Dnipropetrovsk in eastern Ukraine, reported on Telegram that “since the morning, Russian forces have been launching large-scale attacks on Dnipropetrovsk region, attempting to disrupt the power system in the area.”
The Governor of Kherson in the south reported that within the past 24 hours, Russian attacks have resulted in at least one death and three injuries.
The Ukrainian Minister of Energy, German Galushchenko, posted on Facebook that Russia is “conducting large-scale attacks on the Ukrainian electricity sector,” and that power transmission system operators have restricted power supply to minimize the impact.
Since the spring of 2024, Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine’s energy system, damaging nearly half of the country’s electricity generation capacity and often leading to nationwide power outages lasting several hours.
On Wednesday morning, the Ukrainian military initiated national airspace alert to counter Russian cruise missile attacks.
According to reports released by Ukrainian local governments and the Air Force, Russian missiles flew over the eastern, central, southern, and western regions of the country.
Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, stated that its power generation system suffered severe damage in the Russian attacks, with equipment being “seriously damaged.”
DTEK reported on Telegram: “This is the 13th large-scale attack on Ukraine’s energy system this year and the 10th large-scale attack on the company’s energy facilities.”
In a previous attack on November 17th, Russian forces launched 120 missiles and 90 drones at Ukraine, resulting in at least seven fatalities and significant damage to the power system.
With Russia intensifying airstrikes and advancing troops towards the eastern frontlines, Ukraine is facing one of the most difficult winters in the nearly three-year war.
(Reference: Reuters)