Electricity has been restored to nearly six million Ukrainians, although issues with water and heat supply persist, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an address on Dec. 17.
While Kyiv, Vinnytsia, and Lviv oblasts are the most affected, large-scale blackouts are taking place across Ukraine, Zelensky said.
“Repair work continues without interruption after yesterday’s terrorist attack,” he said. “Of course, there is still a lot of work to stabilize the system.” Zelensky also appealed to international partners to provide Ukraine with air defense against Russian missiles.
“The fewer opportunities Russia has for terror, the more opportunities we will have to restore and guarantee peace,” he said.
Russia unleashed its seventh large-scale missile barrage on Ukraine on the morning of Dec. 16, targeting energy infrastructure across the country.
As a result, blackouts occurred across Ukraine, and the metro momentarily stopped operating in Kyiv to allow it to serve as a shelter for residents.
Russia launched a total of 76 cruise missiles at targets across Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s Air Force.
Sixty of these missiles, a mix of Kh-555, Kh-101, and Kalibr cruise missiles, were shot down by Ukrainian air defense.
