Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that 9 million people in Ukraine have been cut off from electricity after relentless attacks by Russian forces on power facilities in Ukraine.



According to President Zelensky, about a quarter of Ukraine's total population of about 41 million live without electricity in the middle of winter.



President Zelensky said some areas have resumed electricity supply as restoration progresses to a large extent, but added that "power outages continue due to lack of power."



Ukraine's government is rushing to restore power, but it is not ruling out the possibility that Russia will launch another large-scale attack within the year.



Ukraine's energy minister, Hermann Halushenko, predicted in an interview with a local broadcaster that day that Russia may attack energy facilities with cruise missiles on the last day of this year.



"Russia has not given up on attacking the energy grid," Hallushenko said.



Ukraine is ahead of New Year's celebrations, and observations are that the Russian military may attack on the last day of the year to spoil the event.



"The situation is very difficult and painful," Zelensky said of the battle in Bakhmut, eastern Donetsk province, which has recently become the most fierce battleground in the Ukraine war.



"Bahmut, Kreminna and other Donbass regions require maximum strength and concentration," he said.



"The occupation forces (Russian forces) are deploying all the resources they have, saying they are going to advance in any form. And they have significant resources," Zelensky added.



Bahmut is a strategic point in the Eastern Donbas region.



Securing it would allow us to take the supply line between eastern Ukraine and Russia.



The Russians, who have been on the defensive for a while, are concentrating their counterattack here and looking for an opportunity to turn around.



Ukrainian forces are also reinforcing forces in the region to avoid being pushed back.



On the same day, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that the Russian counterattack was repulsed.



The General Staff also claimed that an artillery attack killed or wounded 150 Russian soldiers in the small town of Polovinkino near Luhansk.



The General Staff also said artillery fire killed 50 Russian soldiers and wounded 100 in Kherson.



Germany's DPA news agency said it could not confirm whether it was true or not.



(Photo = AP, Yonhap News)