Putin ‘deliberately’ chose Christmas Day for a massive bombardment of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, Zelenskyy says

Two firefighters in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region in images shared by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Russia launched an attack on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure on Christmas Day in what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as an “inhumane” move, according to multiple reports.

Zelenskyy said in a Telegram message that more than 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and more than 100 attack drones were launched at Ukrainian energy targets.

“Every Russian massive strike takes time to prepare. It is never a spontaneous decision. It is a conscious choice not only of targets, but also of time and date,” he said, according to the BBC’s translation.

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

In 2022, Ukraine’s Orthodox Church allowed Christmas to be celebrated on December 25, in what was widely read as a snub to Russia, which largely celebrates on January 7. Much of Ukraine has followed suit since.

Russia claimed responsibility for the strikes, according to state-owned news agency RIA Novosti.

On Wednesday, Zelenskyy shared several images of firefighters working to tackle the damage in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

Russia launched a massive bombardment against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Christmas Day.

Ukraine’s forces shot down at least 50 of the missiles and many of the drones, but there were still power outages in several regions as a result of hits, Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine’s energy minister, German Galushchenko, also said in a Facebook post that the country’s energy industry was under attack on a mass scale, forcing blackouts.

DTEK, Ukraine’s largest energy company, called the attack “cynical,” saying it had caused serious damage and forced energy systems to cut power to the regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, and Kyiv.

The northeastern city of Kharkiv — Ukraine’s second largest city — was among the worst hit, according to its mayor, Ihor Terekhov, who said there had been a series of explosions amid massive rocket fire.

He said four people had been injured as of 11 a.m. local time, and a large part of the city was without heating.

Firefighters in the Dnipropetrovsk region. 

Video shared on social media — which B-17 couldn’t independently verify — appeared to show air-raid sirens going off in Kyiv amid reports that people were sheltering in metro stations.

There were also explosions reported in Kremenchuk, Kryvyi Rih, and Ivano-Frankivsk, The Kyiv Independent reported.

In a statement, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it targeted “critical energy infrastructure facilities in Ukraine that ensure the operation of the military-industrial complex,” per the BBC’s translation.

“The strike’s goal was achieved. All facilities were hit,” it added.

Mass attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure have been a hallmark of Russia’s full-scale invasion. There have been mass strikes throughout the year, and as of November, an estimated two-thirds of the country’s electrical generation capacity had been knocked out.