By Pavel Polityuk
KYIV (Reuters) -Russia attacked Ukraine’s energy system and some cities with cruise and ballistic missiles plus drones on Wednesday in an “inhuman” Christmas Day assault, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
Nearly three years into the war, the strikes wounded at least six people in the northeastern city of Kharkiv and killed one in the region of Dnipropetrovsk, the governors there said.
U.S. President Joe Biden denounced the “outrageous” attack and said he had asked the U.S. Defense Department to push forward with a new surge of military aid to Kyiv.
Half a million people in Kharkiv region were left without heating, in temperatures just a few degrees Celsius above zero, while there were blackouts in the capital Kyiv and elsewhere.
“Today, (Russian President Vladimir) 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,” he said.
Russia’s Defence Ministry confirmed it had conducted a “massive strike” on what it said were critical energy facilities supporting the work of Kyiv’s “military-industrial complex”.
“The aim of the strike was achieved. All facilities have been hit,” it said in a statement.
Ukraine’s military said its air defences downed 59 Russian missiles and 54 drones overnight and on Wednesday morning.
Biden, who is being replaced by Donald Trump next month, said the purpose of the attack was “to cut off the Ukrainian people’s access to heat and electricity during winter and to jeopardize the safety of its grid”.
Washington has committed $175 billion in aid for Ukraine. It is not certain the flow will continue at that pace under Trump, who has said he wants to bring the war to a quick end.
In Moldova, Ukraine’s western neighbour, pro-European President Maia Sandu said one Russian missile crossed through her country’s airspace during the air assault.
“While our countries are celebrating Christmas, the Kremlin has chosen the path of destruction, launching strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and violating Moldova’s airspace,” Sandu wrote on social media.
Moldova has seen several cases of drone fragments landing on its territory and missiles passing through its airspace.
Ukrainians were marking their second Christmas on Wednesday, according to a new calendar in another step towards erasing Russian influence.
Most Ukrainians are Orthodox Christians and the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine, set up in 2018, agreed in 2023 to move away from the traditional Julian calendar used in Russia where Christmas is on Jan. 7.
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.
‘RUSSIA WEAPONIZES WINTER’
Ukraine’s air force said Kharkiv was attacked by ballistic missiles. Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram there was damage to civilian non-residential infrastructure, without giving more detail.
Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak said the fatality there occurred in an attack on regional power facilities.
“Since the morning, the Russian army has been massively attacking the Dnipro region. It is trying to destroy the region’s power system,” he said.
Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said on Facebook that Russia was massively attacking the power sector and that restrictions on electricity supply were in place.
Ukraine’s largest private energy company DTEK said its generating facilities were attacked, with power equipment seriously damaged, in the 13th large-scale assault on the energy sector this year.
“We appeal to every ally of Ukraine to end this state-sponsored terrorism now by giving our armed forces the air defence ammunition they need to protect essential energy infrastructure,” DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko said in a statement.
“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 warm,” said U.S. Ambassador Bridget Brink.
“For the third holiday season, Russia weaponizes winter.”
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv; Additional reporting by Alexander Tanas in Chisinau; Editing by Edmund Klamann, Andrew Cawthorne, Ron Popeski and Sandra Maler)
