In Ukraine, around nine million people are still without electricity as a result of the Russian attacks on the energy grid.

And in Kyiv, there are fears that new waves of cruise missiles and rockets will soon appear - possibly as early as New Year's Eve.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accuses Ukraine of wanting to draw NATO deeper into the war.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the situation at the front in the Donbass region is "difficult and painful" and requires all the country's "strength and concentration".

"First of all, the situation on the front: Bakhmut, Kreminna and other areas of Donbass, which require maximum strength and concentration," says Zelenskyy in his evening video address available resources, and these are considerable resources to make any move."

The city of Bakhmut is considered the so-called cornerstone of the front in eastern Ukraine.

A breakthrough at this point would allow Russian troops to penetrate deep behind the Ukrainian lines.

The city has since been expanded into a fortress by the defenders.

Ukrainian artillery hit a concentration of Russian troops in the village of Polovinkino in the Luhansk region in the east of the country on Monday.

Around 150 soldiers were killed or wounded, it said.

A similar artillery attack on Russian troops in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine killed around 50 soldiers and wounded another 100, the general staff in Kyiv said.

The information could not initially be independently verified.

Zelenskyj: Still deficits in the power supply

Despite feverish repair work on the severely damaged power grid, around nine million people in Ukraine are still without electricity.

"But the number and duration of power outages is steadily decreasing," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his daily video address on Monday evening.

But there are still many deficits in the power supply.

At the same time, Zelenskyy warned of possible new Russian attacks on the energy grid.

"The air defenses are preparing, the state is preparing and everyone must prepare," he said.

The Russian military has repeatedly attacked the Ukrainian energy grid for weeks with cruise missiles, rockets and so-called kamikaze drones.

The aim is to put the population under pressure in the middle of winter with the failure of the electricity and water supply.

Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko fears a major Russian attack with rockets and cruise missiles on New Year's Eve.

"The Russians have not renounced attacks against our energy grid," he said on Ukrainian television on Monday evening.

"And since they're going by specific dates, New Year's is likely to be one of those dates that they're going to try to damage our energy grid."