Here is more from the Russian defence ministry on its attack on Ukraine.
In a statement it said:
This morning the armed forces of the Russian Federation launched a massive strike with long-range precision weapons and strike drones against critical facilities of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure that support the work of the military-industrial complex.
The aim of the strike was achieved. All facilities have been hit.
Key events
Keir Starmer condems Russia’s strikes on Ukraine
UK prime minister Keir Starmer has condemned Russia’s strikes on Ukraine:
I pay tribute to the resilience of the Ukrainian people, and the leadership of president Zelenskyy, in the face of further drone and missile attacks from Putin’s bloody and brutal war machine, with no respite, even at Christmas.
He added:
As we go into the New Year, it remains vital that we redouble our resolve to place Ukraine in the strongest possible position to end Russia’s illegal aggression against the Ukrainian people.
Moldova says Russian missile ‘violated’ its airspace
Moldova’s president Maia Sandu said a Russian missile was detected in its airspace.
Posting on X, she said:
While our countries celebrate Christmas, 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 acts and stands in full solidarity with Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Nato member Romania said it had not detected any Russian missile passing through its airspace to target Ukraine as claimed by Kyiv.
Here are some more details on Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s energy system.
The strikes included 78 air, ground, and sea-launched missiles as well as 106 Shaheds and other types of drones, Ukraine’s air force said.
It claimed to have intercepted 59 missiles and 54 drones, with 52 more drones being jammed.
Pope calls for end to the war in Ukraine
Pope Francis has called for an end to the war in Ukraine in his traditional Christmas Day address in Rome.
He said:
May the sound of arms be silenced in war-torn Ukraine. May there be the boldness needed to open the door to negotiation and to gestures of dialogue and encounter, in order to achieve a just and lasting peace.
Here are some images coming to us over the wires from Ukraine.
One woman was killed after falling debris from a Ukrainian drone that was shot down caused an explosion and a fatal fire in a shopping centre in the city of Vladikavkaz in Russia’s North Ossetia region, the local governor said on Wednesday.
Sergei Menyailo, the regional governor, wrote on his official Telegram account that air defence systems had shot down the drone at 0828 Moscow time (0528 GMT), Reuters reports.
Here is more from the Russian defence ministry on its attack on Ukraine.
In a statement it said:
This morning the armed forces of the Russian Federation launched a massive strike with long-range precision weapons and strike drones against critical facilities of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure that support the work of the military-industrial complex.
The aim of the strike was achieved. All facilities have been hit.
Ukraine’s air force said it downed 59 Russia-launched missiles and 54 drones, Reuters reports.
Russian forces have taken control of Vidrodzhennia – Tass
The Russian defence ministry has said that Russian forces have taken control of the settlement of Vidrodzhennia in eastern Ukraine.
Russian defence ministry says it carried out ‘massive strike’ on Ukrainian energy system
Reuters is reporting that the Russian defence ministry said it had conducted a “massive strike” on what it said were critical energy facilities in Ukraine that support the work of Kyiv’s military-industrial complex.
Four people were killed and five people were injured in the town of Lgov in Russia’s Kursk region after Ukrainian shelling, the region’s acting governor said on Wednesday.
“A five-storey residential building, two single-storey residential buildings and a single-storey beauty salon were seriously damaged,” Alexander Khinshtein wrote on Telegram.
“The blast wave blew out windows in neighbouring private residences and damaged at least 12 cars. A small section of a gas pipeline was also destroyed by the blast.”
US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, has commented on Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Posting on X, she said:
Russia’s Christmas gift to Ukraine: more than 70 missiles and 100 drones, directed at Ukrainian families celebrating in their homes and the energy infrastructure that keeps them. For the third holiday season, Russia weaponizes winter.
Half a million people without heating in Kharkiv region following Russian attack – Reuters
Following the attack on Ukraine’s energy system, Reuters reports that half a million people in Kharkiv region were left without heating on Christmas Day, in temperatures just a few degrees Celsius above zero. Meanwhile there were blackouts in the capital Kyiv and elsewhere.
Russia has intensified attacks on the Ukrainian energy sector since spring of this year, damaging almost half of its generating capacity and causing prolonged blackouts.
Here are some images coming to us over the wires from Ukraine.
We have more on Russia’s strike on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Maxim Timchenko, the CEO of DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, whose equipment was severly damaged in the attack, wrote on his X account:
Denying light and warmth to millions of peace-loving people as they celebrate Christmas is a depraved and evil act that must be answered.
Here is President Zelenskyy’s response in full to the attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure which he posted on Telegram.
Every massive Russian strike requires time for preparation. It is never a spontaneous decision. It is a deliberate choice – not only of targets but also of timing and date.
Today, Putin deliberately chose Christmas for an attack. What could be more inhuman? Over 70 missiles, including ballistic ones, and more than a hundred attack drones. The targets are our energy infrastructure.
They continue to fight for a blackout in Ukraine. According to preliminary reports, our defenders managed to shoot down more than 50 missiles and a significant number of drones.
Unfortunately, there have been hits. As of now, there are power outages in several regions. Power engineers are working to restore power supply as soon as possible.
I thank everyone who is working for the country, who is on combat duty, who is protecting our skies. We will restore the maximum. Russian evil will not break Ukraine and will not spoil Christmas.
Hello and welcome to the Ukraine live blog.
We start with news that Russia has launched a major Christmas morning attack on Ukraine’s energy system and cities in its eastern region with cruise and ballistic missiles, Ukrainian officials said.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, described the attack as “inhuman” and rounded on Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
“Today, Putin deliberately chose Christmas to attack. What could be more inhuman? More than 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and more than a hundred attack drones,” Zelenskyy said on the Telegram messenger.
He said there were hits and blackouts in several regions because of the strike. “The targets are our energy. They continue to fight for a blackout in Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine’s air defence downed more than 50 Russian missiles in the strike on Wednesday.
In further developments:
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At least three people were wounded in a missile attack on Kharkiv in north-eastern Ukraine, the city’s mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said: “Kharkiv is under a massive missile attack. A series of explosions were heard in the city and there are still ballistic missiles heading towards the city,” Terekhov wrote on Telegram early on Wednesday.
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Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, whose equipment was severly damaged in the attack, said on the Telegram messaging app: “This year, it is the 13th massive attack on the Ukrainian energy sector and the 10th massive attack on the company’s energy facilities.”
