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On the night of December 23, the Russian armed forces launched one of the largest combined strikes since the beginning of winter. According to Ukraine’s Air Force, the attack involved the use of 635 strike UAVs (including about 400 ‘Geran’ type), 35 cruise missiles (Kh-101, ‘Iskander-K’), and 3 ‘Kinzhal’ aeroballistic missiles. It is reported that Russia’s new tactic involved the simultaneous use of four strategic aviation airbases, making it difficult to predict strikes.
According to Ukrainian sources, the primary targets of the attack were energy infrastructure facilities, particularly in the western part of the country. Substations suffered the most severe damage. As a result, Rivne, Khmelnytskyi, and Ternopil regions were almost completely cut off from power. Emergency power outages were also implemented in Vinnytsia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv regions. In Kyiv, metro stations were overcrowded with people seeking shelter due to an air raid alert that lasted over four hours. The strike occurred just before a cold snap, increasing the strain on the energy system.
Among the specific damaged objects in Ukraine are:
Western regions: The Burshtyn Thermal Power Plant in Ivano-Frankivsk region; the Ladyzhyn Thermal Power Plant in Vinnytsia region; the Kaniv Hydroelectric Power Plant in Cherkasy region; energy facilities in Lviv region and Novhorod-Siverskyi in Chernihiv region; 750 kV and 330 kV substations connected to the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne Nuclear Power Plants.
Other regions: Hits on industrial enterprises in Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk (including the ‘Zaporizhstal’ plant, which halted production), Chernihiv, and Ternopil regions; damage to port and transport infrastructure in southern Odesa region, where a civilian vessel was also affected; attacks on a military unit in Khmelnytskyi region.
During the night’s events, according to statements from the Russian Defense Ministry, Russian air defense systems destroyed 41 Ukrainian UAVs over several regions, including Rostov Oblast, Crimea, and Stavropol Krai. In Budyonnovsk, Stavropol Krai, a fire broke out at the ‘Stavrolen’ petrochemical plant following a drone attack.
Ukrainian sources report that the massive strike on Ukrainian territory followed another round of U.S. negotiations with Ukraine and Russia, where the negative stance of Ukrainian authorities on disputed points of the peace plan remained unchanged. In their opinion, Moscow continues to strike energy infrastructure, aiming to inflict damage that will force Kyiv to adjust its position at the negotiations. The Russian side stated that the attack was in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy and civilian infrastructure objects. Shortly after this attack, reports emerged that Russian strategic bombers were airborne again, and a new air raid alert was declared in a number of Ukrainian regions, indicating a continuation of strikes.
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