How much money did Russia spend on the attack that left Kiev without heat and electricity in the middle of winter

Russia spent more than 10.2 billion rubles (about $131 million) on the Jan. 20 airstrike that hit Kiev's electricity and heating networks in the dead of winter, Ukraine's military intelligence service (HUR) announced Jan. 23, according to the Kyiv Independent.

Kiev, a city of more than 3 million people, is still reeling from the January 20 attack, in which Russia launched 33 missiles and 339 drones into Ukraine. The strikes have destroyed energy infrastructure and left thousands of residents of the capital without heating as temperatures remain below freezing.

According to the military intelligence service of Ukraine (HUR), among the 372 long-range weapons used by Russia in this attack were Iskander ballistic missiles, X-101 cruise missiles, Zirkon naval missiles adapted for land attacks, as well as RM-48U trap missiles, originally used in the training of Russian air defense systems such as the S-400.

The January 20 attack also involved several long-range drones based on the design of the Iranian-made Shahed drones, which have become notorious for their use in attacks on Ukraine.

“To be able to continue financing the war machine, Moscow is forced to increase taxes and excises and reduce spending in both social and government investment projects,” HUR reported.

The attack left large areas of Ukraine without electricity and heating, amid the coldest spell since the start of the full-scale war.

The energy crisis continues. Ukraine's largest private energy company, DTEK, announced on January 23 emergency power outages in Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Such blackouts are currently in place across much of the country, including Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Poltava and Cherkassy regions.

State power grid operator Ukrenergo reported on January 23 that the situation had worsened due to the need to take several power plants out of service for repair work.

The operator appealed to the population to use electricity sparingly, in the context of the pressure on the energy infrastructure and the threat of new Russian attacks.

Repair and reconnection work is ongoing across the country.