Dec. 25 (UPI) — Nearly half a million households were left without power on Christmas Day in frigid weather after further missile attacks by Russia on Ukraine‘s damaged power grid, according to multiple reports.
New drone and missile strikes by Russia across Ukraine, which officials say may or may not have entered other foreign airspace, began Tuesday night and continued into the morning on Christmas Day with the country’s energy minister warning of power cuts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Wednesday more than 70 missiles, including several ballistic along with more than 100 drones, targeted Ukraine’s energy sector and that Russia continues to “fight for a blackout in Ukraine,” he wrote on Telegram.
At least one person is dead after attacks in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region with at least six injuries in Kharkiv less than 20 miles to the Russian border, and more than a dozen other reported injuries in other parts of the war-torn eastern European country.
There were outages in “several” regions, the Ukrainian leader says, and energy workers are working to restore power “as soon as possible.”
Russia attacked its energy sector “again on a massive scale,” Ukrainian Energy Minister German Halushchenko wrote on Facebook.
Oleh Syniehubov, the regional governor, confirmed at least seven missile strikes targeted the city. A sprinkling of infrastructure and residential buildings were damaged in the onslaught.
“According to preliminary data, our defenders managed to shoot down more than 50 missiles and a significant part of the drones,” Zelenskyy said. “Unfortunately, there are hits,” he added.
DTEK, the country’s largest energy provider, said Kyiv imposed rolling blackouts to stabilize the crippled grid and is the 13th time this year attacks on Ukraine’s power grid have been carried out by Russia.
Many civilians spent their morning taking shelter in metro stations as bombs fell across Ukraine.
On Tuesday during Christmas Eve mass in the Vatican, Pope Francis took note of “war-torn Ukraine” by calling for “the boldness needed open the door to negotiation” and “gestures of dialogue and encounter, in order to achieve a just and lasting peace.”
On Wednesday, Zelensky, 46, added it was “inhumane” for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, 72, to “deliberately” choose Christmas Day for his strikes.
This marks the second official Christmas Day since Ukraine distanced itself from the Russian Orthodox Church to bring it in-line with most of Europe which used to celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7.
“Every Russian massive strike takes time to prepare,” Zelensky said. “It is never a spontaneous decision. It is a conscious choice not only of targets, but also of time and date.”
U.S. officials and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer were quick to criticize Putin’s Christmas Day strikes.
“Russia’s Christmas gift to Ukraine: more than 70 missiles and 100 drones,” stated U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, adding how for the third holiday season, “Russia weaponizes winter.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha says a Russian missile allegedly passed or entered the neighboring Romanian and Moldovan airspace “reminding that Russia threatens not only Ukraine,” he said on social media. But defense officials in Romania were unable to confirm if its airspace had been violated.
According to the Polish Operational Command, Poland scrambled fighter jets in response to a Russian missile threat in western Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the leader of Moldova condemned Russia saying her country “stands in full solidarity” with its neighbor.
“While our countries celebrate Christmas, Kremlin chooses destruction,” President Maia Sandu, 52, said on X. She reiterated how Russian missile strikes targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, adding that it likewise violated Moldova’s airspace in the process, which “clearly violate international law,” according to the Moldovan president.