Speaking at Friday's weekly Ministry of Defense press conference, Col. Kiviselg said last week saw a slight decrease in the intensity of military operations on the front line. However, but the Russian Federation has continued its attacks on Ukraine's energy and heating infrastructure.

"Last week, there were an average of 170 combat engagements per day, which is slightly less than the previous week, when there were around 200," he said.

"At the same time, the advance of Russian Federation units at the start of this year has been slower than in November and December. The main focus for the Russian Federation has not changed: the most active areas for combat engagements continued to be in the Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad directions, as well as Zaporizhzhia and Huliaipole," the colonel explained.

"Significant activity has also been observed in the Kostyantynivka, Oleksandrivka and Lyman directions. Russian units have managed to advance in the northern part of Kharkiv Oblast, in the Sloviansk, Kostyantynivka and Pokrovsk directions, and in the western part of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast," he continued.

According to the EDF intelligence chief, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have advanced in the Kupiansk region over the past week, where they have launched counterattacks. They have also carried out successful attacks in the direction of Kostyantynivka and Huliaipole, recapturing some territory.

"The Russian Federation has continued to carry out air strikes against critical infrastructure in Ukraine. While during the week, 80 to 160 drones and between one and three ballistic missiles have generally been used in attacks, on January 12 and 13, as many as 300 drones and 25 ballistic and cruise missiles were launched from the Russian side," Col. Kiviselg continued.

"Over the past week, thermal power plants, boiler houses, ports, railways and agricultural infrastructure in seven different Ukrainian oblasts have all been attacked from the Russian side. These attacks were a continuation of the large-scale attack from the end of last week, which also involved the launch of the Oreshnik medium-range missile. As a result of these attacks, nearly 6,000 large apartment buildings in Kyiv have been left without power," he added.

The EDF colonel also said other Ukrainian cities and regions have been hit by power outages during the week.

"The situation has been made more difficult by the cold weather this winter, which was not the case during the previous years of the war. As a result, the Ukrainian government has declared a state of emergency in the country's energy sector to ensure the provision of essential services to the population and speed up the repair of the damage caused," Col. Kiviselg pointed out.

"At the same time, Ukrainian energy specialists have already done a great deal of work, and the clean-up from the damage caused by the attacks in Kyiv and elsewhere continues. It is still important for Ukraine to receive constant assistance from supporting countries to ensure the functioning of its energy system," he said.

Col. Kiviselg additionally highlighted that Ukraine has launched a series of strikes against targets in Russia.

"The most significant of these was the attack on a factory in Taganrog, which is involved in the production of both drones and electronic warfare equipment. The Ukrainians have also attacked a chemical plant in the Stavropol region, where materials needed for the production of rockets and explosives were manufactured. Three oil platforms in the Caspian Sea have also been attacked," he said.

According to the colonel, Russia's attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure highlight its desire to cause a humanitarian catastrophe in Ukraine and destabilize Ukrainian society.

"The Russian Federation has been trying to achieve this goal with intensive attacks since the winter of 2022, but so far it has failed. Now, three years on, in addition to missiles, large numbers of drones are also being used against Ukraine. Russia used significantly less in the previous years of the war," he explained.

The EDF colonel added that for Ukraine, defending itself continues to be a major challenge, requiring a consistent increase in the reliability of its energy systems, the ability to constantly repel drones, and a necessity to find new ways to limit or reduce drone production in Russia.

"It can be said that although Russia is using more drones in its attacks than before, Ukraine's ability to repel these drones has actually remained statistically similar throughout, with the Ukrainians shooting down around 80 percent or more of the drones launched against them. It can also be said that Ukraine is continuing to take measures to reduce Russia's ability to produce drones by attacking drone production facilities deep inside Russia," Col. Kiviselg said.

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