Russia launched a missile and drone barrage on Christmas targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
The attacks occurred in the Kharkiv, Kursk, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, and an air raid alert went off in the capital city of Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy decried Russia’s attack on his country’s power grid, calling it “inhumane.”
“Today, Putin deliberately chose Christmas for an attack. What could be more inhumane?”
More than 70 ballistic and other missiles, in addition to more than 100 drones, were used in the attacks in what Zelenskyy said was Russia’s attempt to create a blackout in his country.
Ukraine shot down “more than 50 missiles and a significant number of drones” and was still hit, according to Zelenskyy. There are power outages in a number of regions as engineers are trying to restore power, he said.
“Russian evil will not break Ukraine and will not spoil Christmas,” Zelenskyy said.
Russia has intensified attacks on the Ukrainian energy sector since the spring of this year, damaging almost half of its generating capacity and causing prolonged blackouts. This is part of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.
“The enemy is again massively attacking the energy sector,” posted Ukraine’s energy minister German Halushchenko on Facebook. “The transmission system operator is taking the necessary measures to limit consumption to minimize the negative consequences for the energy system.
“Moldova condemns these acts and stands in full solidarity with Ukraine,” Sandu said.
Christmas in Ukraine, where most of its people are Christian Orthodox, used to be celebrated on Jan. 7, as is the case in Russia. That changed in 2023 to Dec. 25, the date used in Western countries.
Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed it had conducted a “massive strike” on what it said were critical energy facilities supporting the work of Kyiv’s “military-industrial complex.”
“The aim of the strike was achieved. All facilities have been hit,” it said in a statement.
