LAST UPDATE | 5 hrs ago
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR Zelensky has said Russia carried out an “inhumane” attack, launching dozens of missiles and drones on his war-torn country’s energy grid on Christmas Day.
The strikes killed at least one person and damaged energy infrastructure across Ukraine, according to officials.
Air raid sirens rang out over Ukraine on Wednesday morning, while the air force reported Russian Kalibr cruise missiles had been launched from the Black Sea.
“Putin deliberately chose Christmas to attack. What could be more inhumane? More than 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and more than a hundred attack drones. The target is our energy system,” Zelensky said.
Every massive Russian strike requires time for preparation. It is never a spontaneous decision. It is a deliberate choice – not only of targets but also of timing and date.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 25, 2024
Today, Putin deliberately chose Christmas for an attack. What could be more inhumane? Over 70 missiles,… pic.twitter.com/GMD8rTomoX
Ukraine faces its toughest winter of the almost three-year war as Moscow steps up its aerial bombardment and its troops advance on the frontlines in the east.
Ukraine’s DTEK energy company said the latest attack severely damaged equipment of thermal power plants.
“Denying light and warmth to millions of peace-loving people as they celebrate Christmas is a depraved and evil act that must be answered,” DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko said, urging allies to send more air defence.
A “massive missile attack” also pummelled Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv early today, according to Mayor Igor Terekhov.
“Kharkiv is under a massive missile attack. A series of explosions were heard in the city and there are still ballistic missiles heading towards the city,” Terekhov wrote on Telegram.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the “ongoing assault on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure”.
“I pay tribute to the resilience of the Ukrainian people, and the leadership of President Zelensky, in the face of further drone and missile attacks from Putin’s bloody and brutal war machine with no respite even at Christmas.”
Since the start of the war in February 2022, Russia has severely damaged Ukraine’s power grid by repeatedly bombing it, causing regular power cuts.
Ukraine has regularly appealed to its allies for more robust air defence systems to thwart Russian attacks on the war-battered country’s power system.
Last month, Washington cleared Ukraine to use long-range American missiles against military targets inside Russia, prompting fiery rhetoric and vows of retaliation from Moscow.
In November, Russia launched almost 200 missiles and drones targeting Ukraine’s energy grid, with President Volodymyr Zelensky alleging “cluster munitions” were fired in what he called a “despicable escalation” almost three years into the war.
Both sides are scrambling to gain an upper hand ahead of Donald Trump being inaugurated as US president in January.
The Republican has promised to bring a swift end to the conflict, without proposing any concrete terms for a ceasefire or peace deal.
Moscow’s army claims to have seized more than 190 Ukrainian settlements this year, with Kyiv struggling to hold the line in the face of manpower and ammunition shortages.
Russia’s defence ministry said Wednesday its forces had shot down 59 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Separately, a woman has been killed in a fire after a drone fell on a shopping mall in Russia’s North Ossetia region today.
The blaze at the four-storey Alania Mall in Vladikavkaz, the main city in the Caucasus region, was caused by the debris of a drone hit by an air defence system, Russia’s defence ministry said.
Another drone came down on Wednesday in the town of Malgobek in the neighbouring Russian republic of Ingushetia without causing damage or injuries, regional leader Makhmoud-Ali Kalimatov said.
According to channels on Russian Telegram social media network, the North Ossetia fire erupted before the shopping centre opened on Wednesday and killed a cleaner.
Television images showed a spiral of smoke atop the rainbow-coloured building. Russia’s emergency services department said the blaze broke out on one of the upper floors.
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