Russia’s Christmas Day missile strikes ‘inhumane,’ Zelenskyy says

Russia launched a massive missile and drone barrage on Christmas Day Wednesday, striking a thermal power plant and prompting Ukrainians to take shelter in metro stations on Christmas morning.

“Putin deliberately chose Christmas for an attack. What could be more inhumane,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement on X. “They continue to fight for a blackout in Ukraine.”

Over 70 rockets, including ballistic missiles, and over 100 attack drones were used to strike Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, according to the Ukrainian leader.

Ukraine has managed to shoot down at least 50 missiles and a significant number of drones, Zelenskyy added.

Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said Russia again “massively attacks energy infrastructure” in a Facebook statement. Ukraine’s Air Force alerted multiple missiles fired at Kharkiv, Dnipro and Poltava regions east of the country.

“The (electricity) distribution system operator takes the necessary measures to limit consumption to minimise negative consequences for the power system,” he said. “As soon as the security situation allows, energy workers will establish the damage caused.”

Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said Russia struck one of their thermal power plants Wednesday morning, making it the 13th attack on Ukraine’s power grid this year.

“Denying light and warmth to millions of peace-loving people as they celebrate Christmas is a depraved and evil act that must be answered,” Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK, wrote on his X account.

Ukrainian state energy operator Ukrenergo applied preemptive power outages across the country due to a “massive missile attack,” which caused electricity to go out in several districts of the capital Kyiv.

At least seven strikes targeted Kharkiv, sparking fires across the city, regional head Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram. At least three people were injured, local authorities said.

“Kharkiv is under massive missile fire. A series of explosions rang out in the city and there are still ballistic missiles flying in the direction of the city. Stay in safe places,” Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said one Russian missile passed Moldovan and Romanian airspace.

Additional sources • AP