Three Ukrainian regions almost entirely without power after Russian attack

Three Ukrainian regions — Rivne, Ternopil and Khmelnytskyi — were left almost completely without electricity following a Russian overnight attack on December 23, according to a morning report by the Ministry of Energy.

Power outages were also reported in Vinnytsia and Zhytomyr regions, as well as in frontline areas of Chernihiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions.

In Odesa region, a significant number of consumers remain without electricity due to damage from previous strikes.

Following the attack, emergency rolling blackouts were introduced across government-controlled areas of Ukraine. Authorities have not yet said when the restrictions will be lifted.

Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said that the attack caused the most damage to energy infrastructure in western Ukraine, where two nuclear power plants are located. According to the Ministry of Defense, Russia launched more than 600 drones and dozens of missiles during the strike.

• Earlier this month, after a previous large-scale Russian attack on December 6, the head of Ukraine’s grid operator Ukrenergo said that restoring the power system would take weeks.
• The December 23 strike marks the ninth massive missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since the beginning of the year.