Overnight strikes leave death, destruction and power outages in Ukraine

This article is published in association with United Nations.

A new wave of overnight strikes and front-line hostilities in Ukraine have caused further civilian casualties and damage to critical energy infrastructure, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday.

Several civilians were killed and nearly 30 injured, including children, according to local authorities. Homes in seven regions, as well as the capital Kyiv, were damaged.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) noted “tragic reports” of one child killed and three injured in Kyiv, Vyshhorod and Zhytomyr.

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“Children facing another difficult, terrifying winter: Young lives threatened. Heating, power and water disrupted,” UNICEF tweeted, calling for an end to attacks.

Critical infrastructure hit

Drone strikes damaged more than 120 residential buildings in the Odesa region, OCHA said.  Key energy, port and transport infrastructure, particularly in the port town of Reni, near the border with Romania, were also hit.

The strikes left more than 10,000 customers without electricity, while critical facilities are operating on backup power.

Farther north, strikes damaged energy facilities in Novhorod-Siverskyi, a town in the Chernihiv region, and in Shostka town in the Sumy region.

Parts of Shostka that were already heavily affected by previous attacks were without electricity and heating once again.

Power outages amid winter weather

Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy also reported large-scale power outages in the Khmelnytskyi, Rivne and Ternopil regions, with disruptions recorded in six additional regions.

“With the start of the cold season, the most vulnerable need support most. This violence must stop. Civilians must be protected,” OCHA said separately in a tweet.

 Nearly four years have passed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Humanitarian support for thousands

Over the past 11 months, the UN and humanitarian partners have reached more than 430,000 people across the country with emergency assistance following strikes. 

This support includes essential medical supplies, healthcare services, and cash assistance – and mostly in front-line regions. Meanwhile, needs are rising in previously less-affected areas as attacks expand.

OCHA reported that an inter-agency convoy delivered eight metric tonnes of humanitarian aid to the community of Novoraiske in the Kherson region on Tuesday.

Items provided included medical and hygiene supplies, charging stations, children’s clothing and mattresses.

Novoraiske is home to some 1,900 people, more than 200 of them children.  Several locations there have no access to water, gas or electricity due to the continued hostilities, OCHA said.