Putin ‘inhumane’, Zelensky says as Russia knocks on Ukrainian energy on Christmas Day

CNN
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Russia launched an “inhumane” attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Christmas Day, with explosions reported across the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

It is the thirteenth time this year that Russia has carried out a major attack on Ukrainian energy, leaving the country in a precarious position as the war grinds into a third winter.

At least one person died in the attacks in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, while six others were wounded in Kharkiv – less than 20 miles from the Russian border – Ukraine’s national police said, adding that residential buildings and civilian infrastructure were damaged in the attack. At least seven missile strikes targeted the city, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

Before 2023, most Ukrainians celebrated Christmas on the traditional Orthodox Christmas Day of January 7, but last year President Zelensky signed a law changing the date as a way to further remove Russian influence.

The holiday is now celebrated in Ukraine on December 25, and Zelensky said Russia’s intentions were clear.

“Every massive Russian attack requires time for preparation. It is never a spontaneous decision. It is a deliberate choice – not only of target, but also of timing and date,” Zelensky said.

“Today, Putin deliberately chose Christmas for an attack. What could be more inhumane?”

Russia fired more than 70 missiles on Wednesday, including ballistic missiles, and more than 100 attack drones targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, he said, adding that more than 50 missiles were shot down along with a “significant” number of drones.

“Unfortunately, there are hits. Right now there are blackouts in several regions,” he added.

DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, said the attacks severely damaged equipment at its thermal power plants across the country.

“This year, it is the thirteenth massive attack on the Ukrainian energy sector and the tenth massive attack on the company’s energy facilities,” the company said, adding that its thermal power plants have been fired upon more than 200 times since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Russia attacked “the energy sector again on a massive scale,” Ukrainian Energy Minister German Halushchenko said on his Facebook page. Ukraine’s energy operator introduced emergency shutdowns in several parts of the country, the minister added.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said on X that a Russian missile passed through Moldovan and Romanian airspace “as a reminder that Russia is not only a threat to Ukraine.”

Maia Sandu, President of the Republic of Moldova said on X: “While our countries celebrate Christmas, the Kremlin chooses destruction – targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and violating Moldova’s airspace with a missile, actions that clearly violate international law. Moldova condemns these actions and stands in full solidarity with Ukraine.”

Poland scrambled fighter jets in response to a Russian missile threat in western Ukraine, according to the Polish operational command.

Wednesday’s attack follows a deadly Russian attack on the city of Kryvyi Rih on Christmas Eve. At least one person was killed and 17 others were injured after a Russian missile hit a residential building in the city – the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.