Zelensky condemns Russia’s ‘inhumane’ Christmas attack on Ukraine energy grid

KYIV - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Dec 25 denounced an “inhumane” attack from Russia, which launched dozens of missiles and drones on his war-torn country’s energy grid on Christmas Day.

Ukrainians woke up at 5.30am (11.30am Singapore time) to an air raid alarm, shortly followed by air force reports that Russia had launched Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea.

“Putin deliberately chose Christmas to attack. What could be more inhumane? More than 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and more than a hundred attack drones. The target is our energy system,” Mr Zelensky said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

This was the 13th large-scale strike on Ukraine’s energy system in 2024, the latest in Russia’s campaign targeting the power grid during winter.

“Russian evil will not break Ukraine and will not ruin Christmas,” Mr Zelensky said.

Russia, meanwhile, said five people had died in Ukrainian strikes and from a falling drone in the border region of Kursk and in North Ossetia in the Caucasus.

Ukraine said its air force downed 58 out of 79 Russian-launched missiles. But it did not down the two North Korean-made KN-23 ballistic missiles launched by Russia.

US President Joe Biden called the strikes that cut off people’s access to heat and electricity amid winter conditions “outrageous”.

“I have directed the Department of Defence 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 defence against Russian forces,” he added in a statement.

Ukraine has been urging allies to send more aid to fend off aerial strikes and push back troops on the ground.

Earlier, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the strikes.

“I pay tribute to the resilience of the Ukrainian people, and the leadership of President Zelensky, in the face of further drone and missile attacks from Putin’s bloody and brutal war machine with no respite even at Christmas,” Mr Starmer said.

Kyiv also said a Russian missile went through Moldovan and Romanian airspace, but Romania said it detected no such violation.

Moldova, which has expressed solidarity with Ukraine since the war, “confirmed a violation” of its airspace later on Dec 25.

While its military radar did not identify the missile, “Russia deliberately flew these devices at a very low altitude to avoid detection”, a presidency spokesperson told AFP.

Ukraine’s DTEK energy company said the attack severely damaged equipment of thermal power plants.

“Denying light and warmth to millions of peace-loving people as they celebrate Christmas is a depraved and evil act that must be answered,” the company’s chief executive Maxim Timchenko said.

An employee of a Ukrainian thermal power plant was killed in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, over which 42 missiles were shot down, governor Sergiy Lysak said.

Heating was cut in several parts of the city of Dnipro, said Mayor Borys Filatov.

He added that the authorities were evacuating and transferring patients from a hospital.

“Christmas morning has once again shown that nothing is sacred for the aggressor country,” said Ms Svitlana Onyshchuk, head of the Ivano-Frankivsk region, which also temporarily lost power.

Ukraine is officially celebrating Christmas on Dec 25 for the second time.

The government in 2023 changed the date from Jan 7, when most Orthodox believers celebrate, as a snub to Russia.

Nearly 200 people paraded through the centre of Kyiv, singing Christmas carols.

“With this march, we show that we will not be discouraged,” said 30-year-old Bogdana Kuevda, one of the participants.

Won’t ruin Christmas

The Christmas day attack also targeted Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, located near the Russian border.

The missiles had targeted the city’s boiler houses, thermal power plants and electricity facilities, Mayor Igor Terekhov said, temporarily cutting power to 500,000 people.

Kharkiv’s Governor Oleg Synegubov also said the authorities had evacuated 46 people from the area of Borivske and Kupiansk.

Moscow’s forces are aiming to recapture the town of Kupiansk, which was occupied in the first year of the war but later retaken by Ukrainian forces.

Outmanned Ukrainian troops are on the back foot across the front line in the Kharkiv and Donetsk region farther south, ceding ground to better-equipped Russian troops.

Russia said it seized the small village of Vidrodzhennia, a few kilometres south of Pokrovsk, a vital rail hub and mining town.

Both sides are scrambling to gain an upper hand ahead of the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, who had boasted that he would quickly end the war, raising fears that Washington may force Kyiv into a deal on Moscow’s terms. AFP