Russia unleashed dozens of missiles and drones on Ukraine’s war-torn country’s electrical grid on Christmas Day, a “inhumane” strike that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned on Wednesday.
The nation was alerted to an air raid at 5:30 am (0330 GMT), and the air force then reported that Russia had fired 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,” Zelensky said.
The latest in Russia’s winter campaign to assault the power infrastructure, this was the 13th major attack on Ukraine’s energy sector this year.
According to Zelensky, the air force shot down more than fifty missiles.
“Unfortunately, there are some hits. As of now, there are blackouts in several regions,” he said.
Engineers were working to repair the system, but Ukraine’s DTEK energy company said the attack severely damaged equipment of thermal power plants, and regional officials reported power cuts.
“Christmas morning has once again shown that nothing is sacred for the aggressor country,” said Svitlana Onyshchuk, the head of the Ivano-Frankivsk region.
“At a time when we celebrate one of the greatest religious holidays — the bright Christmas,” she remarked, certain parts of the region were without power.
For the second year in a row, Ukraine is officially celebrating Christmas on December 25.
As a slight to Russia, the administration last year shifted the celebration date from January 7, which is when the majority of Orthodox Christians celebrate.
Governor Sergiy Lysak of central Dnipropetrovsk, the target of the Christmas Day attack, claimed that Russia was “trying to destroy the region’s power system.”
*
Email *
Website
