Temperatures in the country have dropped to -20° Celsius and attacks on energy infrastructure have left families in freezing conditions. Many older people and people with disabilities are often trapped at home in high-rise apartment buildings, without electricity or heat, unable to cook hot meals or recharge 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 Kharkiv, a dormitory housing displaced people fleeing fighting at the front was attacked. A hospital and residential buildings were also damaged.
In the capital kyiv, thousands of apartment buildings that were slowly being reconnected to basic services after the previous wave of attacks on January 9 and 20, were once again without power in sub-zero temperatures.
The entire city of Chernihiv and hundreds of thousands of families in the surrounding region were left without electricity.
Repair teams and aid workers continue to work in low temperatures to help victims.
According to media reports, more than a million people are without electricity across the country, of which around 800,000 are in kyiv.
“This systematic cycle of attacks on energy infrastructure violates international humanitarian law and must stop,” Humanitarian Coordinator Schmale said in a statement. Ukrainian civilians, he said, should live in their homes in safety and warmth, and not in fear of the next round of destruction.