The attacks left at least six people injured in the city of Kharkiv and one person dead in the Dnipropetrovsk region, according to local governors. Nearly 500,000 people in the Kharkiv region were left without heating as temperatures hovered above freezing. Power outages also hit Kiev and other regions.
US President Joe Biden strongly condemned the move, calling it “outrageous”. He said he had asked the US Department of Defense to step up the provision of new military aid to Kiev, with the aim of helping Ukraine restore its energy system and protect critical infrastructure during the winter.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that it had carried out "large-scale" attacks on key energy facilities supporting Kiev's "military-industrial complex." Russia claimed that "all targets were hit." However, the Ukrainian military said that Ukrainian air defense systems had shot down 59 missiles and 54 drones.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Moldova, a Russian missile flew over the country's airspace. Moldovan President Maia Sandu condemned the action, calling it a violation of airspace.
In addition to infrastructure damage, Russian attacks have also targeted Ukraine’s energy system. Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko confirmed that the largest power generating facilities have been attacked, and restrictions on power supply are being imposed. This is the 13th time this year that Ukraine’s energy system has been hit by a large-scale attack.
Faced with this situation, DTEK - Ukraine's largest private energy company - called for support from international allies to provide anti-aircraft ammunition to protect essential infrastructure.
Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink emphasized: "Russia's Christmas gift to Ukraine is more than 70 missiles and 100 drones, targeting families gathering at home."
