Ukraine has entered the new year under intensifying and deadly Russian attacks which have crippled energy systems and left millions without heating, electricity or water amid freezing temperatures, senior UN officials told the Security Council on Monday.
“As temperatures plummet far below freezing, the Russian Federation has intensified its systematic attacks targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure,” said Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. She noted that the strikes had killed and injured scores of civilians and deprived millions of access to basic services.
In Kyiv, at least four people were reportedly killed and 25 injured, including a paramedic who died while responding to an earlier strike, hit by a so-called “double-tap” attack—a tactic where a second strike hits the same area shortly after the first, targeting emergency responders. Nearly half of the capital was left without heating, and hundreds of thousands of residents were affected.
Energy and residential facilities were also damaged in western Lviv region, near the Polish border, where an intermediate-range ballistic missile known as “Oreshnik” was reportedly used for the second time since 2024. The weapon is believed capable of carrying nuclear payloads, heightening international concern.
Ports and shipping have also come under attack. On 8 January, two foreign-flagged civilian vessels were struck by Russian drones in the Odesa region. Two people were reportedly killed and eight injured in subsequent port attacks that damaged storage facilities and containers. Odesa was hit again on Sunday, in what Ms. DiCarlo described as a “concerning escalation” targeting Ukraine’s port infrastructure and commercial shipping.
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths warned that the attacks were exacerbating a humanitarian catastrophe. “With temperatures dropping to minus 20 degrees Celsius in some areas, the loss of heating is not just an inconvenience—it is a matter of life and death,” he said. The UN estimates that over 18 million people in Ukraine are in need of humanitarian assistance, with 7.8 million internally displaced.
The Security Council meeting heard calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid. However, diplomatic divisions remain stark, with Russia defending its actions as legitimate military operations and accusing Ukraine and its Western allies of provocation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the international community to provide more air defense systems and energy equipment to help the country weather the winter. “We are fighting not just for our land, but for our right to survive this winter,” he said in a video address.
As the conflict drags into its fourth year, the winter crisis has underscored the urgent need for a negotiated settlement. Yet with both sides dug in and geopolitical tensions high, prospects for peace remain dim. For millions of Ukrainians, the coming weeks will be a test of endurance as they face freezing temperatures without basic services, caught in the crossfire of a war showing no signs of abating.
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