Russia has launched a significant assault on Ukraine, deploying 71 missiles and 450 attack drones, according to the Ukrainian air force. The new offensive arrives just days before expected peace negotiations and amid warnings over the long-running war’s humanitarian toll. More than 400,000 people were deprived of heating in the middle of brutal winter weather as the strikes focused on energy infrastructure.
The terrorizing attacks targeted cities throughout the country, with Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest, enduring extensive destruction. Kharkiv Governor Oleg Synegubov reported that the strikes aimed to “cause maximum destruction … and leave the city without heat during severe frost.” Because of this, heating was temporarily shut off for about 100,000 customers in the region.
Strikes Across Ukraine
In addition to Kharkiv, Russian attacks also impacted the capital city, Kyiv, where residents sought refuge in metro stations as the situation escalated. The strikes have brought unprecedented sudden disruption, including the immediate loss of electricity and heating to as many as 130,000 households. Officials were forced to shut down heat to more than 800 residences to keep the network from freezing up entirely.
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmygal confirmed the use of “several types of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones, to strike high-rise buildings and thermal power plants.” Ukrainian air force announced they shot down or blew up 38 kreml launchers missiles and 412 drones. Even with this pushback, the damage already done has left thousands of families without access to safe heating in frigid conditions.
Recent Territorial Gains
The US’s counter-offensive with Ukraine comes at a time when Russia has made new territorial gains in the eastern Donetsk region. As noted by the Institute for the Study of War, Russia’s land grabs amounted to 481 square kilometers in January alone. That marks a dramatic leap from the 244 square kilometers seized in December. Taken together these advances are one of the largest during winter since the beginning of the invasion four years ago.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced Russia’s actions on social media, stating, “Taking advantage of the coldest days of winter to terrorise people is more important to Russia than turning to diplomacy.” This tragic sentiment is indicative of Kyiv’s increasing impatience with the never ending Russian hostility and underscores the deeply troubling humanitarian crisis all civilians are enduring.
Humanitarian Crisis Looms
The humanitarian impact of Russia’s attacks is nothing short of catastrophic. Temperatures here have dropped down to minus 20 Celsius in the night. As a consequence, hundreds of thousands of households, including children, have been cut off from heat.
Denys Shmygal emphasized the severity of the situation, asserting that “hundreds of thousands of families… were deliberately left without heat in the harshest winter frosts.” The ongoing war in Ukraine has widely acknowledged to have stressed military resources to the extreme. Meanwhile, it is exacerbating the plight of civilians caught in the crossfire.
