Ukraine Faces Large-Scale Air Attack as Energy Infrastructure Comes Under Fire
The Russian forces launched a massive strike across Ukrainian territory shortly after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned citizens about the possibility of a large-scale attack. A day earlier, the Ukrainian leader said Russia could carry out a major strike in the coming days, prompting air defense systems to be placed on full combat readiness.
According to Zelensky, the attack could have occurred on December 23-24 or on Catholic Christmas, celebrated on December 25.
Power and Water Supplies Disrupted Nationwide
On the morning of December 23, Ukrainian officials reported attacks on at least four regions. Drone strikes targeted the Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, and Rivne regions. The mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk, Ruslan Martsinkiv, warned that the air assault could be prolonged.
Ukrainian authorities believe the main targets of the strike were energy facilities in the western part of the country.
By around 8:00 a. m., emergency power and water shutdowns began in several regions. Outages were reported in the Chernihiv and Cherkasy regions, in Kyiv, and in the city of Burshtyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, home to a major thermal power plant. Power cuts were also recorded in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Electricity was lost in the city of Khmelnytskyi following reported impacts. Explosions were also heard in Rivne and Burshtyn as the attack continued.
Drones Over Kyiv and Air Defense Strain
Residents of the Ukrainian capital shared footage showing drones flying over Kyiv at very low altitude. In his address to the nation, Zelensky once again stressed that Ukraine faces a serious shortage of air defense systems.
At around 4:00 a. m., Ukrainian blogger Anatolii Sharii reported more than 130 drones in Ukrainian airspace. According to his assessment, most of them were heading toward Kyiv and the surrounding region, with some potentially moving toward western Ukraine.
Scale of the Attack and Ongoing Alerts
Later reports indicated that more than 150 Geran-2 drones were involved in the strike, along with Kalibr and Kh-101 cruise missiles. At the time of publication, Ukrainian authorities continued to report incoming strikes, and an air raid alert remained in effect across the entire country.
Meanwhile, Ukraine did not halt its own drone attacks against Russia, although their intensity reportedly declined. Between 7:00 and 9:00 a. m., 14 drones were launched toward Russia's Belgorod region and one toward the Voronezh region. All were intercepted and destroyed. Earlier, from 11:00 p. m. to 7:00 a. m., Russian air defenses reportedly neutralized 29 Ukrainian drones.
