Half a million people without heat in Kharkiv region after the Russian attack

Meanwhile, electricity cuts have taken place in the capital, Kiev, and elsewhere.

Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine's energy sector since spring this year, damaging almost half its generation capacity and causing prolonged cuts.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as <x0human” and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Today, Putin deliberately chose Christmas to attack. What could be more inhumane? More than 70 rockets, including ballistic missiles and more than a hundred offensive drones”, Zelensky said in the telegram.

He said there have been shocks and disruptions in some regions. “Objects are our energy. They continue to fight for power cuts in Ukraine”, he said.

Ukraine's energy minister, German Galushchenko, said the transmission system operator had imposed restrictions on electricity supply to minimise the impact.

At least three people were injured in a missile attack in Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine, said city mayor Ihor Terekhov.

“Kharkov is under a massive missile attack. A series of explosions were heard in the city and there are still ballistic missiles heading towards the town of”, Terekhov wrote in the telegram early Wednesday.

The governor of the Kherson region also reported on Wednesday that one person had been killed in the last 24 hours. In the Dnepropetrovsk region, a search and rescue operation following the Christmas Eve attacks revealed that a 43-year-old man had been killed and another 17 were injured, said Dnepropetrovsk Mayor Sergiy Lysak.

Since the start of the war in February 2022, Russia has seriously damaged Ukraine's electricity network by constantly shelling it, almost halving its generation capacity and causing regular power outages.

Ukraine has regularly called on its allies for more powerful air defence systems to prevent Russian attacks on the country's energy system.

Russia carries out massive attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure