A large-scale Russian missile and drone attack targeting Ukraine’s energy system on Christmas Day has been condemned as “inhumane” by president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Half a million people were left without heating in Kharkiv in temperatures just a few degrees above freezing, as blackouts were reported in Kyiv and other regions.
At least one person was killed and six others wounded in the attack, described by one Ukrainian energy chief as Vladimir Putin’s “state-sponsored terrorism”.
The massive attack came as Ukraine officially celebrated Christmas on 25 December for only the second time, in a move to reduce the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church, which celebrates on 7 January.
It provoked outrage from outgoing US President Joe Biden who vowed to deliver more weapons to Ukraine after sending hundreds of air defence missiles in recent months. “The Ukrainian people deserve to live in peace and safety,” he said.
Mr Zelensky said more than 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and over 100 attack drones were used to strike Ukraine’s power sources. Nearly 60 missiles and 54 drones were shot down, according to Ukraine’s air force.
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“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. Putin deliberately chose Christmas for an attack. What could be more inhumane?” Mr Zelensky said.
“The targets are our energy infrastructure. They continue to fight for a blackout in Ukraine.”
Mr Zelensky’s comments were echoed by prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, who paid tribute “to the resilience of the Ukrainian people ... in the face of further drone and missile attacks from Putin’s bloody and brutal war machine, with no respite, even at Christmas.”
The prime minister added: “As we go into the new year, it remains vital that we redouble our resolve to place Ukraine in the strongest possible position to end Russia’s illegal aggression against the Ukrainian people.”
Mr Biden also released a statement condemning the “outrageous attack” by Moscow, while promising to continue a surge in weapon deliveries to Ukraine.
Washington has committed $175 billion in aid for Ukraine - although it is uncertain the flow will continue under Donald Trump, who becomes president next month.
Mr Biden said: “I have directed the Department of Defense to continue its surge of weapons deliveries to Ukraine, and the United States will continue to work tirelessly to strengthen Ukraine’s position in its defense against Russian forces.”
Having spent Christmas Eve near the battlefields of the Kharkiv region reporting on Ukrainian drone operators destroying Russian military targets, The Independent’s Askold Krushelnycky described the attack.
“Two hours after I returned to my hotel I was awoken at 6.30am on Christmas morning by the Russian military attacking civilian targets in Kharkiv,” he said.
“The city, in eastern Ukraine, is so close to the border that Russia’s missiles, glide bombs and drones, that attack Kharkiv most days, often hit their targets before the air-raid sirens have time to sound.”
Russia’s defence ministry said it had conducted a large-scale strike on what it claimed were critical energy facilities supporting Kyiv’s military-industrial complex. Ukraine’s energy minister German Galushchenko warned that restrictions on the country’s electricity supply were in place as a result.
A thermal power plant was struck, prompting Ukrainians to take shelter in metro stations, with the military launching a nationwide air alert in response to Russian cruise missile launches. Ukraine’s air force said missiles were fired at the eastern Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Poltava regions.
The strikes wounded at least six people in the city of Kharkiv and killed one in the Dnipropetrovsk region, local governors said.
Mr Krushelnycky said: “I was woken by a loud bang which was followed in the next minutes by at least four more explosions and then a little while later by yet another.
“Since then air raid alarms have been sounding frequently and the sound of emergency vehicles’ sirens has provided the audio backdrop all Christmas Day.
“The hotel where I am staying informed me when I first stayed in it last year that they had no basement and, therefore, no air raid shelter of their own but there was one, a short dash away, available to guests.
“The air raid sirens can sound in the capital, Kyiv, and other large Ukrainian cities multiple times. In Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, it’s a rare day they don’t sound multiple times. So most Ukrainians don’t rush to the shelters when the alarms sound or, in places like Kharkiv, even when there are distant explosions.”
Dnipropetrovsk governor Serhiy Lysak said the fatality occurred in an attack on regional power facilities. “Since the morning, the Russian army has been massively attacking the Dnipro region. It is trying to destroy the region’s power system,” he said.
Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov reported “massive missile fire”, adding: “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.”
Ukraine’s largest private energy company DTEK said its generating facilities were attacked, with power equipment seriously damaged, in the 13th large-scale assault on the energy sector this year.
“We appeal to every ally of Ukraine to end this state-sponsored terrorism now by giving our armed forces the air defence ammunition they need to protect essential energy infrastructure,” DTEK chief executive Maxim Timchenko said.
Russia has intensified attacks on the Ukrainian energy sector since spring, damaging almost half of its generating capacity and causing prolonged blackouts.
The US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, said: “Russia’s Christmas gift to Ukraine: more than 70 missiles and 100 drones, directed at Ukrainian families celebrating in their homes and the energy infrastructure that keeps them.
“For the third holiday season, Russia weaponises winter.”
The latest attack came just a day after at least one person was killed and 15 injured in Mr Zelensky’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih – after a ballistic missile struck an apartment building in the central Ukrainian city.
“The monsters landed a direct hit on a four-storey residential block with 32 apartments,” said local military chief Oleksandr Vilkul.
Additional reporting by news agencies
