At the European Council summit on 15 December 2022, EU leaders denounced Russia’s missile attacks on Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure, stating that they amounted to war crimes and must not go unpunished. To help Ukraine survive the winter, the EU committed to increasing humanitarian aid and providing support for reconstructing critical infrastructure necessary to supply energy, heating, and water.

Moreover, the European Council adopted the 9th package of EU sanctions against Russia and introduced an international price ceiling for Russian oil. It emphasized the need to continue exerting pressure on Russia to end its hostilities, and to hold perpetrators accountable for war crimes.

The conclusions adopted at the summit reflected the EU’s commitment to support Ukraine not only militarily, but also through humanitarian and infrastructural aid, especially with the onset of winter presenting additional challenges for Ukrainian citizens.

President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Russia to withdraw its troops from the territory of Ukraine by Christmas, as a gesture showing Russia’s readiness to end the conflict. The Kremlin rejected any possibility of a Christmas ceasefire unless Ukraine accepted the annexation of part of its territory. Zelensky stated that the withdrawal of Russian troops could be a first step towards peace, but Moscow rejected this proposal.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, criticized the U.S. plans to deliver the Patriot defence systems to Ukraine, calling it a “provocative move” that could increase American involvement in the conflict and entail serious consequences. Zakharova stated that this decision could mean that the U.S. had effectively become a party to the war. However, the U.S. government dismissed these warnings.

A report by the Kyiv School of Economics revealed that, as of November 2022, the total direct damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure as a result of Russian invasion had reached $136 billion. The hardest-hit sectors included energy infrastructure, industry, and both state and private businesses. Critical infrastructure, such as power plants and transmission grids, suffered extensive damage, severely affecting Ukraine’s economy and the daily lives of its citizens.

On 16 December 2022, Russian forces launched another massive missile attack targeting Ukraine’s civilian and energy infrastructure. A total of 98 missiles were fired, including Kh-555, Kh-101, Kh-22, Kh-59, Kalibr, and S-300 types. Ukraine’s air defence forces successfully intercepted at least 60 of these missiles, with 37 shot down in the Kyiv region alone. The attacks targeted Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Dnipro, and other cities, resulting in the deaths of three people and injuries to 13.

The strikes caused widespread power outages, particularly in the Kharkiv and Poltava regions, where the entire power grid collapsed. Railway lines near Kharkiv and Kropyvnytskyi were also disrupted due to the blackout.

According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russia’s goal was to provoke social unrest and destabilize Ukraine by destroying its critical infrastructure. However, these actions failed to weaken the Ukrainians’ resolve to resist.

On 16 December 2022, the Council of the European Union adopted the 9th package of sanctions against Russia, in response to its continuing military aggression in Ukraine and escalating attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure. New sanctions included:

• a ban on the export of drone engines to Russia, to reduce the combat capabilities of Russian forces;

• a ban on the export of dual-use products and technologies, which can be used for both civilian and military purposes;

•  a ban on investments in the mining sector, which is key to Russia’s economy;

•  a ban on transactions with the Russian Regional Development Bank, to limit Russia’s access to financing.

• a ban on providing advertising, market research and public opinion polling services.

In addition, the EU suspended the broadcasting licences of four Russian media outlets and added 141 individuals and 49 entities to its blacklist. These measures aimed to reduce Russia’s capacity to continue the war and to increase international pressure on Russia to end its aggression.

Illustrative photo. Generated by AI