Russia targets Ukrainian energy infra in massive Christmas Day attack

Rescuers of the State Emergency Service put out a fire in a house in Kharkiv. Pic/AFP

Russia launched a massive missile and drone barrage targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure on Wednesday, striking a thermal power plant and prompting Ukrainians to take shelter in metro stations on Christmas morning.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said over 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and over 100 attack drones were used to strike Ukraine's power sources, in a statement on X. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said one Russian missile passed Moldovan and Romanian airspace.

"Putin deliberately chose Christmas for an attack. What could be more inhumane?" Zelensky said. "They continue to fight for a blackout in Ukraine." He said Ukraine has managed to shoot down at least 50 missiles and a significant number of drones.

Ukraine's biggest private energy company, DTEK, said Russia struck one of their thermal power plants on Wednesday morning, making it the 13th attack on Ukraine's power grid this year. "Denying light and warmth to millions of peace-loving people as they celebrate Christmas is a depraved and evil act that must be answered," Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK wrote on his X account.

Ukrainian state energy operator, Ukrenergo, applied preemptive power outages across the country, due to a "massive missile attack", leading to electricity going out in several districts of the capital, Kyiv. At least seven strikes targeted Kharkiv, sparking fires across the city, regional head Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram. At least three people were injured, local authorities said.

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