Russia launches ‘inhumane’ Christmas Day attacks, Ukraine says Reuters

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KYIV (Reuters) – Russia attacked Ukraine’s energy system and other cities with cruise missiles and drones on Wednesday in a “brutal” Christmas Day attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

Nearly three years into the war, the strikes injured at least six people in the northeastern city of Kharkiv and killed one in Dnipropetrovsk region, local authorities said.

Half a million people in the Kharkiv region were left without heat, in temperatures just a few degrees Celsius above zero, while there were blackouts in the capital Kyiv and areas other.

“Today, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin deliberately chose Christmas to attack. What could be more inhumane? More than 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and more than a hundred drones of attack,” he said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry has confirmed it has carried out a “major strike” on what it says are vital energy facilities supporting the work of Kyiv’s “military-industrial complex”.

“The objective of the strike has been achieved. All instruments have hit,” it said in a statement.

Ukraine’s military said its air defenses shot down 59 Russian missiles and 54 drones overnight and Wednesday morning.

Ukrainians marked their second Christmas on Wednesday, according to a new calendar in another step to end Russian influence.

The majority of Ukrainians are Orthodox Christians and the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine, founded in 2018, agreed in 2023 from the traditional Julian calendar used in Russia where Christmas is January 7.

Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukraine’s power sector since spring this year, destroying nearly half of its power generation and causing long blackouts.

‘RUSSIA WORKS IN WINTER’

Ukraine’s air force said Kharkiv had been hit by ballistic missiles. District governor Oleh Syniehubov told the Telegraph that there was damage to non-resident buildings, without giving further details.

The governor of Dnipropetrovsk Serhiy Lysak said that the death there occurred in an attack on the local electricity infrastructure.

He said: “Since the morning, the Russian army has been aggressively attacking the Dnipro area. They are trying to destroy the energy system of the area.

The Minister of Energy of Ukraine, German Galushchenko, said on Facebook (NASDAQ:) that Russia was attacking the electricity sector a lot and that restrictions on the supply of electricity are in place.

Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said its power generation facilities were attacked, and electrical equipment was severely damaged, in the 13th major attack on the energy sector this year.

“We call on every partner of Ukraine to end this state-sponsored terrorism now by providing our armed forces with the air defense weapons they need to protect critical energy systems ,” DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko said in a statement.

“Russia’s Christmas gift to Ukraine: more than 70 missiles and 100 drones, aimed at Ukrainian families celebrating in their homes and electrical appliances that keep them warm,” said US ambassador Bridget Brink.

“For the third holiday season, Russia is gearing up for winter.”