Russia's attacks targeted thermal and hydroelectric power plants in Ukraine and caused serious damage to numerous energy facilities, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said.

As noted in the press release, Russia carried out a large-scale attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure on Christmas Day, causing significant damage, in particular to thermal power plants and boiler stations providing heating to civilian homes.

"The Christmas Day attack marks the 13th large-scale, coordinated assault on Ukraine's energy infrastructure this year," HRMMU Head Danielle Bell said.

"The scale of the attack and its targets reflect a deliberate effort to degrade Ukraine's energy systems and civilian resilience during harsh winter conditions, leaving hundreds of thousands without essential heating," Bell said.

The attacks targeted thermal and hydroelectric power plants, causing severe damage to numerous energy facilities. Ukrenergo, the national electricity transmission company, imposed emergency power outages across the country. While power has been partially restored in most areas, rolling blackouts lasting four hours or more continue in many regions, including Kyiv.

"Kharkiv region was particularly affected, with missiles damaging combined heating power plants and boiler houses that supply centralized heat and hot water, as well as residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure. Over 2,677 residential buildings lost heating due to damage to boiler houses and thermal power plants, affecting 500,000 subscribers. While repair works continue, nearly 100,000 subscribers in Kharkiv remained without heat as of Thursday afternoon," the HRMMU said.

In Dnipropetrovsk and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, more than 250 residential buildings were reportedly left without heat due to damage to critical infrastructure serving thousands of users. Temperatures dropped below freezing overnight. In Dnipro, authorities also reported that seven educational institutions and a hospital located near a power plant were left without heat, leading to the closure of schools and the evacuation of more than 100 patients. "Emergency crews and local authorities are working continuously to restore heat and power. Restoration work remains critical, especially in Kharkiv, where large-scale heating outages continue," according to the press release.