Outages as Russia hits Ukraine energy sites at Christmas

Russia launched a combination of cruise and ballistic missiles at Ukraine's energy infrastructure overnight, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday. 

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack on Christmas was not a "spontaneous decision."

"It is a deliberate choice — not only of targets but also of timing and date," Zelenskyy wrote online. "Today, Putin deliberately chose Christmas for an attack. What could be more inhumane?"

What officials said about the strikes

Zelenskyy said that more than 70 missiles, some of them ballistic, had been fired, as well as more than a hundred attack drones. 

"The enemy is again massively attacking the energy sector,"Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko wrote on social media platform Telegram in an earlier alert.

"The transmission system operator is taking the necessary measures to limit consumption to minimize the negative consequences for the energy system," he said.

The Ukrainian military said an air raid alert had been declared across the country, in response to inbound missiles targeting several regions.

Zelenskyy later said that according to preliminary reports, defensive forces managed to intercept more than 50 missiles and "a significant number" of the drones. 

"Unfortunately, there have been hits. As of now, there are power outages in several regions. Power engineers are working to restore power supply as soos as possible," he said.

The governor of the Kherson region reported that one person had been killed and three more were injured over the last 24 hours.

Attacks target Kharkiv, Dnipro

A Russian missile assault targeted Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine on Wednesday morning, injuring at least six people, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

Russia used ballistic missiles, Ukraine's air force added.

Syniehubov said the attack caused "damages to civilian non-residential infrastructure" in a statement on Telegram.

Meanwhile in Dnipro in central Ukraine, Governor Serhiy Lysak also reported widespread attacks, accusing Moscow of "trying to destroy the region's power system."

"Stay in a safe place until the air alert is lifted. Take care of yourself!" Lysak told residents facing freezing winter temperatures.

The governor added that a search and rescue operation following strikes on Christmas Eve found a 43-year-old man who had been killed and 17 others who had been wounded.

Cities including Dnipro and Kryhyi Rih (pictured here) also sustained hits on December 24, including at residential sitesImage: STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE OF UKRAINE via REUTERS

DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, said on Wednesday that its power plants were attacked by Russia.

"This year, it is the 13th massive attack on the Ukrainian energy sector and the 10th massive attack on the company's energy facilities," the company said on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukraine battles another winter amid war

Russia's attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure have intensified since this spring.

Almost half of Ukraine's generating capacity has been battered, causing regular blackouts nationwide.

One of the larger recent missile attacks was on November 17, when Russia launched some 120 missiles and 90 drones.

That attack killed seven and severely damaged the power system, with Ukrainian President Volodymry Zelenskyy accusing Russia of using cluster munition. 

rmt, msh/rm (AFP, Reuters)