Many Ukrainians were celebrating without heat or electricity after Russia launched a Christmas Day attack on the country’s energy infrastructure, an act Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned as “inhumane.”
“Today, Putin deliberately chose Christmas for an attack. “What could be more inhumane?” Zelenskyy said in a post on X early Wednesday morning. “Every massive Russian attack requires time to prepare. It is never a spontaneous decision. It is a conscious choice not only of the targets, but also of the time and date.”
More than 70 Russian missiles and more than a hundred drones targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, and Ukrainian forces successfully shot down more than 50 missiles and a significant number of drones, Zelenskyy added in his post.
Zelenskyy also said that the “targeted attack” on the energy sector caused blackouts in several regions, including kyiv, and emphasized that Russian forces “continue to fight for a blackout in Ukraine.”
“Russian evil will not destroy Ukraine or distort Christmas,” he said.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the attacks.
“This morning, the Russian Armed Forces carried out a massive strike with long-range precision weapons and attack drones against critical energy infrastructure facilities in Ukraine that ensure the functioning of the military-industrial complex,” the ministry said in its daily briefing on Telegram.
“The objective of the strike was achieved. “All facilities were hit,” he added.
“This Christmas terror is Putin’s response to those who spoke of an illusory ‘Christmas ceasefire,’” Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said in a post on X on Wednesday morning.
The attack caused “serious damage” to equipment at the thermal power plant, according to DTEK, Ukraine’s largest energy company. Once the shelling stopped, energy workers began “restoring equipment” to ensure a quick recovery, he said.
US President Joe Biden called it an “outrageous attack” to deprive Ukrainians of heat and electricity during the winter. He also said he had asked the Defense Department to continue its “increased weapons deliveries” to Ukraine.
“Let me be clear: The Ukrainian people deserve to live in peace and security, and the United States and the international community must continue to support Ukraine until it triumphs over Russia’s aggression,” Biden said.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Hlushchenko confirmed that Russia was “massively attacking the energy system” in a Telegram post on Wednesday morning.
He urged people to stay in shelters until the shelling stopped, adding that necessary measures had been put in place to “minimize negative consequences for the electricity system.”
This marks Russia’s 13th attack on Ukraine’s energy sector this year and the 10th attack on the company’s energy companies, according to a post on DTEK’s official Telegram account.
It also marks only the second time in modern Ukrainian history that Christmas has been officially celebrated on December 25, a significant change from the traditional January 7 celebration observed by Russians and other Eastern Orthodox Christians.
“For the second time in modern history, Christmas unites all Ukrainians,” Zelenskyy said in a previous post on X.
“Today we are side by side. And we will not be lost,” Zelenskyy said, adding: “Ukrainians are together today. And as long as we do this, evil will not stand a chance.”
Meanwhile, Russian officials said on Wednesday that four people had been killed and five wounded in the partially occupied Kursk region after Ukrainian shelling.
The region’s acting governor, Alexander Khinshtein, said in a Telegram post that gas and electricity supplies in the city of Lgov had also been disrupted by the shelling.
