Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has condemned Russia's decision to launch a massive airstrike on electricity infrastructure on Christmas morning, accusing Russia of trying to cause a Christmas power and heat cutoff.
Early on Christmas morning, Russian airstrikes and artillery bombardment forced parts of Ukraine into underground air raid shelters, killing at least five people and leaving hundreds of thousands without power or heat. Kiev said the attack included 184 cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and attack drones.
The Air Force claimed to have shot down 59 missiles and 54 drones overnight.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the mid-winter strike, which appeared to prioritize hitting energy infrastructure, had caused power outages in several regions. Ukraine's leader has criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for choosing to carry out large-scale airstrikes on Christmas Day, calling the attack “inhumane”.
“A major Russian attack always requires time to prepare. It is by no means a spontaneous decision. It is a deliberate choice not only of the target but also of the timing and date,” he said.
“Today, President Putin deliberately chose Christmas as the vehicle for his attack. What could be more inhumane than this? More than 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and more than 100 attack drones. The target is energy infrastructure. They continue to fight for power outages in Ukraine.”
Ukrainian state media reported that equipment at several power plants was severely damaged and the power grid was targeted more than 200 times during the invasion.
Associated Press state This morning in Ukraine, 500,000 people were left without heat due to the attack, and the head of a Ukrainian energy company was quoted as saying about the attack: Misdeeds that must be answered for. ”
Ukraine did not suspend military operations against the Russian occupation on Christmas Day, but claimed it had only attacked military targets. Kyiv state media reported that on Christmas night, Ukrainian forces attacked a Russian military command post set up in an “abandoned civilian building” in Kursk.
The Russian side said Ukraine injured civilians in a drone strike in Russia over Christmas night, criticizing what Kiev called a “terrorist attack” and vowing to respond. In particular, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia considers it unfair that the rest of the world does not join Russia in classifying Ukraine as a terrorist state, and that Moscow and Western capitals This further highlighted the deep gulf in perception between the two countries.
