Wed Dec 25 11:50:37 UTC 2024: ## Russia Launches Christmas Day Missile Barrage Against Ukraine
**Kyiv, Ukraine** – Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Christmas Day, December 25, 2024, using over 70 missiles and 100 drones, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The barrage targeted power sources across the country, resulting in widespread power outages and casualties.
At least one person was killed in the Dnipro region, and at least three more were injured in Kharkiv, where seven strikes sparked fires across the city. Hundreds of thousands were left without heating, with 500,000 residents in the Kharkiv region and 155 residential buildings in Ivano-Frankivsk affected. The attack also disrupted heating for numerous buildings in other regions.
Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine’s air defenses shot down at least 50 missiles and a significant number of drones. Despite this, the attack caused significant damage, with Ukraine’s biggest private energy company, DTEK, reporting that one of its thermal power plants was hit – the 13th such attack this year. The Ukrainian state energy operator, Ukrenergo, implemented preemptive power outages to mitigate the damage.
The attack prompted widespread condemnation. Zelenskyy denounced the attack as inhumane, highlighting Russia’s deliberate targeting of civilians during the Christmas holiday. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha further revealed that one Russian missile violated Moldovan and Romanian airspace. DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko called the attack a “depraved and evil act.”
The attack comes amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, with Russia repeatedly targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in an apparent attempt to cripple the country’s civilian population and undermine its ability to defend itself. The incident underscores the ongoing brutality of the conflict and the devastating impact on Ukrainian civilians.
First Piper 