Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 1, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleUkraine condemns Russia's New Year drone attack on power infrastructure, impacting several regions. Zelenskiy calls for urgent air defense supplies.
Jan 1 (Reuters) - A Russian drone attack damaged power infrastructure in several Ukrainian regions overnight, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday, while Moscow accused Ukraine of carrying out a deadly new year attack in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine.
"On New Year, Russia deliberately brings war. Over 200 attack drones were launched onto Ukraine in the night," Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram.
Zelenskiy said energy infrastructure in seven regions across Ukraine had been targeted.
Russia accused Ukraine of killing at least 24 people, including a child, in a drone strike on a hotel and cafe where civilians were seeing in the New Year in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's southern Kherson region.
Ukraine's military, which has accused Russia of killing thousands of civilians in its own attacks on Ukrainian cities, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Moscow's accusation.
Zelenskiy said that Russia's holiday season attacks showed Ukraine could not afford delays in air defence supplies.
"(Our) allies have the names of equipment which we are lacking. We expect that everything agreed with the United States at the end of December for our defence will arrive on time," he said, without clarifying further.
Zelenskiy met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday to negotiate a peace framework to end the nearly four-year war. Both leaders have said they are close to an agreement, but thorny issues around post-war control of territories remain.
The Ukrainian energy ministry said a "significant number" of households in the Volyn and Odesa regions - in northwestern and southwestern Ukraine, respectively - were disconnected from power supplies by the overnight strikes, as well as some in the Chernihiv region north of the capital Kyiv.
The governor of Volant said more than 103,000 households in that region had lost power as a result of the attack. Volyn region is several hundred kilometres from the front line and borders NATO member Poland.
(Reporting by Max HunderEditing by Gareth Jones and Ros Russell)
Energy infrastructure refers to the physical facilities and systems that generate, transmit, and distribute energy, including power plants, transmission lines, and substations.
A drone attack is a military operation in which unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) are used to target and strike specific locations or individuals, often in conflict zones.
Air defense refers to the measures and systems used to protect a country or area from aerial threats, including missiles and aircraft, typically involving radar and anti-aircraft weapons.
A military strike is a targeted attack carried out by armed forces against a specific enemy position or target, often intended to achieve strategic objectives.
A power outage is a temporary loss of electric power in a specific area, often caused by damage to the electrical infrastructure or high demand exceeding supply.
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