Russia attacked Ukraine’s energy facilities at least 27 times in December, with strikes carried out almost daily

On Dec. 2, Russian forces attacked Ukraine’s gas infrastructure. Pro-Russian Telegram channels reported strikes on a gas storage facility in the Dnipropetrovsk Region. In the Odesa Region, drone attacks disrupted power supplies to 44,000 households. Power outages were also reported in the Chernihiv Region after drones struck energy facilities in the Koriukivka District.

On Dec. 3, authorities in the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, and Chernihiv regions reported Russian strikes on infrastructure. According to a report by Ukraine’s Energy Ministry, 17,500 users were left without electricity in the Kharkiv Region, and about 5,000 each in the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions also suffered outages.

On Dec. 4, reports said Russian drones attacked an energy supply facility in Odesa, sparking a fire and leaving nearly 61,000 households without power. The head of the Kherson Region’s military administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, said a series of Russian strikes numbering in the hundreds hit the Kherson combined heat and power plant, forcing it to halt operations. More than 40,500 customers were left without electricity. Prokudin added that regional authorities were considering alternative ways to supply power to affected homes.

On Dec. 6, Ukraine’s Energy Ministry reported Russian strikes on infrastructure in the Kyiv, Chernihiv, Lviv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, and Kharkiv regions. Russian drones attacked the Chernihiv combined heat and power plant and a gas-fired thermal power station nearby, resulting in a fire at the site. Several settlements in the region lost power. Authorities in the Lviv Region reported strikes on a thermal power plant in the Sheptytskyi District and a substation in the Stryi District. Russian pro-war volunteers claimed the Dobrotvir thermal power plant was hit. In the Dnipropetrovsk Region, authorities reported a voltage surge caused by a strike on an energy facility — likely the Kryvyi Rih thermal power plant, which pro-Russian sources said was also hit.

On the night of Dec. 7, energy infrastructure in Chernihiv and Poltava regions came under attack. Reports said a thermal energy facility in Chernihiv — apparently the Chernihiv combined heat and power plant — was struck again. In the Poltava Region, Russian forces attacked infrastructure in the Kremenchuk District, disrupting power supplies in the cities of Kremenchuk and Horishni Plavni.

On the evening of Dec. 8, Russian forces launched drone strikes on energy facilities in Sumy. More than a dozen drones were used, leaving the city without electricity.

On Dec. 9, Ukraine’s Energy Ministry and the company Naftogaz reported Russian drone attacks on gas infrastructure facilities. Strikes were also reported on critical infrastructure enterprises in the Nizhyn District of the Chernihiv Region.

On Dec. 10, grid operator Ukrenergo reported attacks on energy infrastructure in several regions. Households in Kharkiv and Mykolaiv regions were left without electricity.

On Dec. 11, reports said Russian forces attacked energy supply facilities in the Odesa and Poltava regions, causing fires.

On Dec. 12, Russian forces attacked energy infrastructure in the Odesa Region. Facilities in the Odesa District were hit, including one of DTEK’s substations — the 20th such facility damaged in the region. More than 120,000 users were left without power.

On the night of Dec. 12-13, Ukraine was hit by a large-scale Russian missile-and-drone attack that left more than 1 million households without electricity, according to a report by Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko. Energy infrastructure was attacked in the Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, and Mykolaiv regions. Pro-Russian Telegram channels claimed at least four substations were hit in the Odesa Region and one each in the Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions. The pro-Russian OSINT project LostArmour reported strikes on the Odesa CHPP and one of the city’s substations. Power outages were also reported in Kherson.