Ukraine: attacks disrupt heating as temperatures fall

According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), since December 26, nationwide attacks have also caused significant damage to civilian infrastructure, leaving parts of the country without power, heat and water as temperatures fall below freezing.

Nationwide, authorities reported nearly 100 civilian casualties during that period.

The most serious consequences were reported in the city of kyiv, where a large-scale attack on December 27 killed and injured several people. Energy facilities, residential buildings, a kindergarten, a university dormitory, civilian vehicles, shops and other civilian premises were damaged.

No heating in winter

OCHA cited an energy company reporting that more than a million homes in and around Kyiv lost electricity as a result of the strikes. Water supplies were disrupted and around a third of the capital’s population was left without heat at the height of winter.

The same wave of attacks affected the Chernihiv, Dnipro, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Sumy and Odessa regions, causing new victims and damaging homes, educational institutions and infrastructure.

Electricity has since been restored to almost 750,000 homes in Kyiv and almost 350,000 homes in the surrounding Kyivska region. However, heating and electricity remain disrupted by emergency and planned power cuts.

Humanitarian partners have set up warming tents where residents can seek shelter, receive food, charge their mobile phones and access basic assistance.

Essential services under threat

The strikes come against a backdrop of continued pressure on essential services. Ukraine was behind about 42% of all attacks on healthcare recorded worldwide in 2025, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Of more than 1,000 attacks on healthcare facilities worldwide this year, 561 took place in Ukraine, leaving 19 people dead and 201 injured.

Over the weekend, another health facility was damaged in a strike on the town of Izmail in the Odessa region, highlighting continued risks to civilians and medical services as winter conditions intensify.