Ukraine needs as much as $1 billion to restore critical infrastructure quickly in order to get through the winter, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Dec. 12.
"The estimated cost of supporting the power industry is estimated at $500 million, and the same amount is needed for the heating sector," he explained.
Shmyhal also said that, by attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure, Russia is trying to "flood" the European Union with a new wave of refugees.
He noted that Russian missile and artillery strikes on energy infrastructure facilities led to electricity and water supply outages that affected millions of Ukrainians amid freezing weather.
Shmyhal called on Western allies to provide Ukraine with Patriot air defense systems, among other air defenses, to counter Russian attacks.
On the previous day, Shmyhal warned of "significant" energy cuts this winter after Russia's missile blitz damaged "all thermal and hydroelectric power plants" across the country.
Since Oct. 10, Moscow has unleashed six large-scale strikes targeting Ukraine's energy sector, killing dozens of civilians and causing emergency blackouts.
Russia has fired over a thousand missiles and loitering munitions at energy infrastructure nationwide over the last two months, Volodymyr Kudrytsky, CEO of Ukraine's state grid operator Ukrenergo, said on Dec. 9.
The most recent nationwide attack on Ukraine occurred on Dec. 5, killing four and hitting energy sites in at least three regions.
Most Popular
'May he perish,' — Zelensky voices Ukrainians' wish in his Christmas Eve address
Zelensky reveals full 20-point peace plan draft backed by Ukraine, US
Ukraine strikes oil refinery in Russia's Rostov Oblast with Storm Shadow missiles, General Staff says
Ukraine election poll shows tight first round, decisive Zaluzhnyi runoff win over Zelensky
Ukraine on track to receive total of 3 million FPV drones in 2025, defense minister says
News Feed Show More
Saturday, December 27
Elections have been floated as part of a peace or ceasefire deal that Ukraine has been discussing with the U.S., but voting in the occupied territories complicates the process.
(Updated: )
Several waves of explosions were heard across the capital, according to Kyiv Independent reporters on the ground, as well as in Kyiv Oblast, where power outages were reported in the town of Brovary and surrounding areas following the strikes.
Without security guarantees, Ukraine cannot take any steps towards peace or hold presidential elections, which Trump's administration has pressured Zelensky to implement.
Russia launched nearly 500 drones and 40 missiles overnight on Dec. 26-27, largely targeting Kyiv’s energy and civilian infrastructure.
Denis Kapustin, also known by his nom de guerre "White Rex," led the right-wing Russian Volunteer Corps until he was killed by an FPV drone on the southern front, according to preliminary reports. More details are expected later.
The number includes 1,240 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
"I think they want to do it now, and I think that Russia wants to do it. But every time one wants to do it, the other doesn’t," Trump told the New York Post in a Dec. 26 phone call.
Saturday, December 27
Timur Mindich, a close associate of President Volodymyr Zelensky and suspect in a major corruption investigation, gave his first media interview since leaving Ukraine in November, speaking with Ukrainska Pravda in an interview published Dec. 26.
Russia is continuing to systematically recruit foreign nationals for its war against Ukraine, said Oleh Ivashchenko, head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service, on Dec. 26.
Kharkiv Oblast was struck with with three KAB guided bombs, one of which targeted the city of Kharkiv, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported.
(Updated: )
President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Dec. 28 as part of the latest peace efforts to end Russia's nearly four-year full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a source in Ukraine's Presidential Office said.
Russia overnight on Dec. 26 launched drone attacks at Ukraine's sea port and energy infrastructure in Odesa and Mykolaiv oblasts, as well as railway infrastructure in Volyn Oblast, authorities reported.
