Russian attacks have plunged Odesa Oblast into darkness and cold just days before Christmas, cutting power to more than 120,000 residents after strikes on three energy facilities on Dec. 22.

Russia has stepped up attacks in Odesa Oblast this December, targeting ports, roads, energy infrastructure, and homes. Frequent strikes have caused widespread power outages and delayed repairs, leaving some residents without electricity and entire areas cut off due to disrupted transportation networks.

“I am a quite well prepared individual when it comes to blackouts but it did catch me off guard this time,” Anastasia Krupa, a 28-year-old Odesa resident who works as a customer success manager, told the Kyiv Independent.

Air raid alerts went off in Odesa Oblast around 10 p.m. local time on Dec. 21, after Russia launched drone attacks on southern Ukraine. Around 6 a.m. on Dec. 22, the first victim of the strikes was reported: a 30-year-old man hospitalized in moderate condition with shrapnel wounds.

The Dec. 22 attacks primarily targeted critical infrastructure. Russian strikes damaged two energy facilities operated by Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, and destroyed another facility owned by a different energy company, according to a DTEK statement.

DTEK added that ongoing air raid alerts are preventing energy workers from quickly repairing the damage.

Although power outages have affected most Ukrainians since the start of the full-scale invasion, the prolonged loss of electricity continues to take a heavy toll.

People walk their dogs during blackout hours in Odesa, Ukraine, on Nov. 25, 2025, following Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. (Oleksandr Gimanov / AFP via Getty Images)

“I was not able to cook properly, use the lift in my building, as I live on the 19th floor, or take regular showers. So, I either stayed in my flat all the time or had to leave for the entire day, going from cafe to cafe to charge my devices and eat,” Krupa said.

“I am young, and I am doing fine, but I cannot imagine how children or older people cope with this,” she added.

Nataliia Mykhailenko, an Odesa-based photographer and tour guide, said she is relatively fortunate to live in the city center, where power cuts are less severe. In other areas, however, electricity could be available for only two to three hours at a time, she added.

Speaking with the Kyiv Independent, Mykhailenko also recalled that after a Russian attack on the night of Dec. 13, one of the largest strikes on the region since the start of the full-scale invasion, her home was left without electricity or heating for five days before service was eventually restored.

Ukraine’s Odesa Oblast. (Nizar al-Rifai/The Kyiv Independent)

Apart from the energy infrastructure, the Russian Dec. 22 attack damaged the port of Pivdennyi, sparking a fire that destroyed about 30 containers of flour and vegetable oil, Community and Territorial Development Minister Oleksii Kuleba said.

Port infrastructure in Odesa Oblast, which plays a vital role in Ukrainian trade, is not the only target of Russian strikes. Russian forces have also begun destroying bridges that connect cities by land, disrupting local logistics.

Russia carried out more than 10 strikes on a bridge in the village of Mayaky, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Odesa, on Dec. 18–19, Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa Oblast Military Administration, said at a briefing on Dec. 19.

The damage disrupted traffic, prompting local authorities to establish alternative routes, including through neighboring Moldova.

The day after the attack, Ukrainian Railways, also known as Ukrzaliznytsia, resumed service to Chisinau for the first time since 2022. The company said 60% of tickets for the Odesa–Chisinau route sold out within three hours.

A view of residential buildings during a blackout after a Russian attack in Odesa, Ukraine, on Dec. 19, 2025. (Yan Dobronosov / Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Yet that option has also proved challenging. Nataliia Shuliakova, a 21-year-old student, said border queues are already stretching up to 15 hours.

First Deputy Head of the Patrol Police Department Oleksii Biloshitskyi said traffic on the M-15 Odesa–Reni highway through the village of Mayaky was restored on Dec. 21. Local authorities have not yet announced when the bridge will be repaired.

“(This bridge in Mayaky) is the last artery connecting the region with Odesa after the bridge in Zatoka was destroyed at the beginning of the full-scale invasion,” Shuliakova said.

“So far, temporary crossings have been set up on water dams and truck convoys have been organized to deliver food, but attacks against the settlement continue every night without interruption,” she added.

Read also: ‘Every new strike only unites us’ — Odesa endures 5-day blackout after Russian strikes

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