“Christmas Under Siege: Russia Strikes Ukrainian Energy Grid”

On Wednesday, Russia executed a substantial missile and drone attack targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, hitting a thermal power facility and causing Ukrainians to seek refuge in metro stations on Christmas morning.

The assaults on Ukraine’s fuel and energy resources involved 78 air, ground, and sea-launched missiles as well as 106 Shahed drones and other types of UAVs, according to Ukraine’s air force. They reported intercepting 59 missiles and 54 drones, with an additional 52 drones being jammed.

“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin intentionally selected Christmas for an assault. What could be more cruel?” remarked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on X. “They persist in their fight for a blackout in Ukraine.”

In Russia, a woman was killed and three others injured when debris from a downed drone ignited a fire at a shopping center in Vladikavkaz. The leader of Russia’s North Ossetia-Alania republic, Gov. Sergey Menyaylo, stated that security camera footage indicated the explosion occurred outside the Alania Mall Wednesday morning.

At least one person perished during Russia’s offensive on Ukraine’s Dnipro region, reported Vice Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba on Telegram, noting that heating was disrupted for 155 residential structures. He also mentioned that about 500,000 individuals in the Kharkiv region faced heating outages.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha indicated that one Russian missile traversed Moldovan and Romanian airspace.

Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko commented that Russia has once again “massively attacked energy infrastructure.” Ukraine’s air force reported that several missiles had been directed towards the Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Poltava regions in the eastern part of the nation.

Halushchenko stated that the energy distributor undertook necessary actions to limit consumption.

“Once the security environment permits, energy personnel will assess the damage incurred,” he stated.

State energy operator Ukrenergo implemented preemptive power outages nationwide due to a “massive missile assault,” causing electricity blackouts in various districts of the capital, Kyiv.

DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, announced that Russia targeted one of their thermal power plants on Wednesday morning, marking the 13th strike on Ukraine’s power grid this year.

“Depriving millions of peace-loving individuals of light and warmth during their Christmas celebrations is a vile and wicked action that must be addressed,” Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK, stated on his X account.

No fewer than seven strikes hit Kharkiv, igniting blazes throughout the city, as reported by regional head Oleh Syniehubov on Telegram. Local officials stated that at least three individuals were injured.

“Kharkiv is experiencing extensive missile bombardment. A series of explosions resonated in the city, and ballistic missiles are still airborne in the city’s direction. Remain in safe locations,” urged Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported in its morning update on Wednesday that it had downed 59 Ukrainian drones overnight, including in the Belgorod, Voronezh, Kursk, Bryansk, and Tambov regions, as well as over the Azov Sea. The incident in North Ossetia-Alania was not mentioned.

In addition, four individuals were killed due to Ukrainian shelling in the town of Lgov within the Kursk region, according to regional head Alexander Khinshtein. Three individuals died after several residential blocks and a beauty salon were targeted, he noted. A fourth person later succumbed to injuries in a hospital.