By Rostyslav Averchuk
Lviv, Ukraine (EFE). — Millions of Ukrainians spent Christmas Eve without electricity in freezing temperatures after a large-scale Russian attack on the country’s energy infrastructure on Wednesday, officials and residents said.
Power outages were reported across several regions after Russia fired about 650 long-range drones and 38 missiles targeting electricity generation facilities and the national grid, forcing emergency shutdowns and rolling blackouts nationwide.
“If there is no electricity at home, we will have Christmas dinner by candlelight,” a passerby said while speaking on the phone in central Lviv, where the streets were filled with the loud hum of portable generators following Tuesday’s strikes.
The attacks damaged key substations and reduced electricity transmission capacity, forcing three nuclear power plants under Kyiv’s control to scale back production, according to Ukrainian authorities.
In Lviv, in western Ukraine, residents faced power cuts of up to 10 hours a day, with electricity rationed by district to distribute the limited supply evenly among households.
Festivities amid blackouts
Despite the outages, preparations continued for one of the most important holidays in the predominantly Christian country.
Many residents rushed to prepare traditional Christmas dishes under battery-powered lamps.
Several hundred people gathered on Angels Square to attend the installation of a didukh, a traditional Ukrainian Christmas symbol made from a decorated sheaf of wheat, near the Garrison Church, where fallen Ukrainian soldiers are honoured daily.
Choirs and residents sang Christmas carols around the four-metre-tall didukh.
“Together with our children, we will have Christmas dinner today with 12 traditional dishes,” said Lesya Kulchytska, a singer with the Lemkovyna folk ensemble.
“It won’t be as abundant as before because times are difficult and we have spent a lot to support our army,” she added. Kulchytska said her husband, Herman, has been fighting as a volunteer since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion nearly four years ago.
She said that maintaining traditions, despite power cuts, separation from loved ones, and wartime losses, helps strengthen Ukrainians’ resolve.
Rail disruptions and electricity shortages also failed to deter Natalia, a 54-year-old tourist who travelled from Vinnytsia to Lviv to fulfil her long-held dream of spending Christmas in the city, known for its churches.
“Christmas is about hope that things will get better, that there will be peace and health for everyone,” she told EFE, adding she planned to attend church services before returning home, where residents were expected to spend up to half the day without electricity.
Energy system under attack
While Lviv fared better than frontline areas and regions closer to Russia, emergency repairs are expected to take days or weeks, energy experts said, warning that some Ukrainians may face outages lasting up to 16 hours a day.
Russian strikes continued on Wednesday, causing further damage to a power station in Kharkiv and to Ukraine’s gas infrastructure, which is critical for heating during winter.
“The main goal is to disrupt the energy system before the New Year, splitting it along the Dnipro River and isolating regions such as Odesa, Sumy, Chernihiv and Kharkiv,” Volodymyr Omelchenko of the Kyiv-based Razumkov Centre wrote on Facebook. EFE
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