Nearly half a million households were left without power on Christmas Day in frigid weather after further missile attacks by Russia on Ukraine's damaged power grid, according to multiple reports.

Russia launched aerial attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector “on a massive scale” overnight into Wednesday, local authorities said, with explosions reported across the country amid intensified bombardments that have left Ukraine in a precarious position while the war grinds into a third winter.

The Christmas Day attack was the thirteenth time this year Russia has targeted Ukraine's energy infrastructure.