Temperatures in the country have dropped to -20° Celsius, and attacks on energy infrastructure have left families in freezing conditions. Many elderly and disabled people are often stuck in their homes in high-rise apartment buildings, without electricity and heating, unable to prepare hot meals or charge their devices to stay connected.
The latest attacks took place during ongoing peace talks in the United Arab Emirates, involving delegates from Russia, Ukraine and the United States
In Kharkov, a dormitory housing displaced people who had fled the fighting on the front lines came under fire. A hospital and residential buildings were also damaged.
In the capital Kiev, thousands of apartment buildings that were gradually reconnected to basic services after the previous wave of attacks on January 9 and 20 were once again without electricity in sub-zero temperatures.
The entire city of Chernihiv and hundreds of thousands of families in the surrounding region were without electricity.
Repair crews and humanitarian workers continue to work in low temperatures to help victims.
According to media reports, more than a million people are without power across the country, including about 800,000 in Kiev.
“This systematic cycle of attacks on energy infrastructure violates international humanitarian law and must stop,” Mr Schmale, the humanitarian coordinator, said in a statement. Ukrainian citizens, he said, should live in safety and warmth in their homes, and not in fear of the next round of destruction.
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