President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces primarily used Iranian-made Shahed drones in the barrage, which he described as a direct assault on Ukraine’s energy grid and daily life.
“This was a strike on everything that sustains life,” he said in a statement on Telegram.
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko confirmed that energy facilities in western Ukraine suffered the most damage. Emergency rolling blackouts were implemented nationwide, with restoration work expected once the security situation allows.
Among the confirmed fatalities were a woman in Kyiv region, another civilian in Khmelnytskyi, and a young child in Zhytomyr, where a drone struck a residential building.
Ukraine's air defenses shot down a significant number of incoming drones and missiles, Zelensky said, adding that air raid alerts remained in effect across much of the country.
Tuesday’s attack marked the ninth large-scale strike against Ukraine’s energy system this year, according to the Ministry of Energy. In Rivne region, power was nearly completely cut off. Outages were also reported in Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Donetsk, Dnipro and Kharkiv regions.
Zelensky condemned the timing of the attack, which came just days before Christmas and during ongoing peace talks. He urged international partners to maintain pressure on Moscow and continue support for Ukraine’s defense.
“This is exactly when people want safety and time with family,” he said. “The world must respond.”
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Source: PAP, RMF24