Many Kyiv residents sheltered in metro stations
BBC NEWS | Published December 26, 2024
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia made a “conscious choice” by launching a major overnight attack on his country’s energy infrastructure on Christmas Day.
Ukraine’s air force said it had detected 184 missiles and drones, but many were shot down or missed their targets.
It said there were casualties from the strikes but gave no figures.
Moscow confirmed the attack and claimed that its goal had been achieved.
The attack led to power cuts across the country, including in the capital Kyiv, where some residents sheltered in metro stations.
Russia’s defence confirmed its forces had carried out a “massive strike” on “critical” energy facilities in Ukraine.
It added that the strike had been a success and all targets were hit.
This was the 13th major attack on Ukraine’s energy sector this year, the country’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said.
Responding to the latest Russian strikes, US President Joe Biden said: “The purpose of this outrageous attack was to cut off the Ukrainian people’s access to heat and electricity during winter and to jeopardise the safety of its grid.”
Biden – who will be succeeded by Donald Trump on 20 January – also asked the US defence department to continue delivering weapons to Ukraine.
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SOURCE: www.bbc.com
RELATED: Putin ‘inhumane,’ Zelensky says, as Russia pounds Ukrainian power grid on Christmas Day
CNN | Published December 26, 2024
Russia launched an “inhumane” attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Christmas Day, with explosions reported across the country, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
It is the thirteenth time this year Russia has carried out a major attack on Ukraine’s power grid, according to DTEK, the country’s largest energy provider, leaving it in a precarious position while the war grinds into a third winter.
At least one person died in the attacks in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, while six others were injured in Kharkiv – less than 20 miles from the Russian border – Ukraine’s national police said, adding that residential buildings and civilian infrastructure were damaged in the attack. At least seven missile strikes targeted the city, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
Half a million households have been left without heating in the Kharkiv region in temperatures of 3 degrees Celsius (37 degrees Fahrenheit). Kyiv has imposed rolling blackouts to stabilize the grid, DTEK said.
Ukrainian forces meanwhile said Wednesday that they attacked a Russian command post overnight in Lgov in the Kursk region, where Kyiv launched a surprise offensive this year.
Four people were killed and five have been hospitalised, including one woman in a serious condition, according to local authorities in the Kursk region.
In Russia’s North Ossetia-Alania, the ministry of defence said an explosion and fire in a shopping center in Vladikavkaz was caused by falling debris from a drone shot down by air defence forces Wednesday morning which killed one person.
Attack comes after Xmas day switch
Prior to 2023, most Ukrainians celebrated Christmas on January 7 under the Julian church calendar, but last year Zelensky signed a law formally changing the date as a way of further distancing the country from the traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church – and bringing it in line with much of the rest of Europe.
Ukraine created its own independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine in 2018, splitting from the Moscow-affiliated Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). Since then, religious affiliation has increasingly been viewed as a symbol of national loyalty.
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SOURCE: www.cnn.com
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