The war in Ukraine knows no respite for Christmas. Russia launched more than 70 missiles and more than 100 explosive drones at Ukraine on Wednesday morning, targeting its energy system, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, denouncing an “inhumane” attack on Christmas Day. These attacks left at least one dead and six injured according to the authorities.
What happened?
An air alert was issued across Ukraine at dawn on Wednesday, as the Air Force reported launches of Russian ballistic and cruise missiles coming from the Black Sea. The authorities of Kharkiv, the country's second city located in the northeast, near the Russian border, reported “at least seven strikes” on this locality. At least six people were injured, regional governor Oleg Synegoubov announced on Telegram.
The Dnipropetrovsk region (central-east) was also attacked. Explosions notably resounded in the capital, Dnipro, and in Kryvyï Rig, the hometown of President Zelensky. “One person was killed following the missile attack on energy sites,” said regional governor Serguii Lysak. “The enemy is trying to destroy the region’s power grid,” he added.
“More than 50 missiles” and some drones were shot down but some strikes led to power cuts in certain regions, President Zelensky said on Telegram. “Today Putin consciously chose Christmas for his attack. What could be more inhumane? » he said. This “Christmas terror is Putin’s response to those who spoke of an illusory Christmas ceasefire » between kyiv and Moscow, added Minister Sybiga.
These attacks occur on the day when Ukraine, for the second time in its modern history, celebrates Christmas Day on December 25, as in the Western world, and no longer on January 7 as in the Julian calendar followed by the Church Russian Orthodox. This trip was made official during the summer of 2023 by a law promulgated by President Zelensky as a sign of defiance towards Russia.
What is the damage to energy installations?
The DTEK group, the country's main private energy supplier, said on Wednesday that its thermal power plants had been targeted by this new attack, reporting “serious damage” to their equipment. “This is already the thirteenth massive attack on Ukraine’s energy system this year,” DTEK said in a statement.
Since the start of the war in February 2022, Russia has seriously damaged Ukraine's electricity grid by repeatedly bombing it, causing regular power outages. “Depriving millions of peaceful people celebrating Christmas of light and heat is a depraved and evil act that must be responded to,” DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko told X, calling on kyiv’s allies to provide more means of air defense.
The regional administration of Ivano-Frankivsk announced for its part that part of this territory, located in the west of the country, hundreds of kilometers from the front line, was deprived of power. In the Poltava region (center), authorities reported damaged infrastructure.
The national electricity company, Ukrenergo, then announced supply restrictions. “The transmission network operator takes the necessary measures to limit consumption in order to minimize negative consequences for the energy system,” Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko wrote on Telegram. “As soon as safety conditions allow, energy sector workers will clarify the damage caused,” he added.
Was Moldovan and Romanian airspace crossed?
One of the Russian missiles launched during this attack crossed Moldovan and Romanian airspace, said the head of Ukrainian diplomacy Andriï Sybiga. This “reminds us that Russia does not only threaten Ukraine,” he stressed on the social network X.
But Romania, a NATO member, indicated that “the air surveillance system, an integral part of the NATO system, did not detect such a situation,” according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense. “The data does not confirm” that such a device “violated Romanian airspace,” wrote the ministry, adding that it would “continue investigations in order to clarify the circumstances.”
In neighboring Moldova, border police spotted a Russian missile but “it did not fly over Moldovan airspace”, according to information available to the army at this stage. “While our countries celebrate Christmas, the Kremlin chooses destruction by targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure,” Moldovan President Maia Sandu reacted on the social network X, condemning “a violation of international law.”
Putin promised more “destruction”
On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised even more “destruction” to Ukraine, after a drone attack on residential buildings in the city of Kazan, a thousand kilometers from the Ukrainian border. “Anyone who attempts to destroy anything in our country, no matter how small, will face much greater destruction in their own country and will regret what they tried to do to our country,” he said. -he warned.
VideoPutin promises even more “destruction” in Ukraine
On Wednesday morning, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that 59 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted over Russian territory during the previous night, including 26 in the Belgorod region and 23 in the Voronezh region. Voronezh Governor Aleksandr Gusev wrote on Telegram that debris from the downed drones damaged a power line and caused minor material damage to several houses.
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