Russia's Christmas Day missile strike on Ukrainian energy system 'inhumane' — Zelenskyy
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Russian forces carried out an "inhumane" attack on Ukraine's energy system and cities in its eastern region with cruise and ballistic missiles on Wednesday morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.
At least six people were wounded in a missile attack on Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine on Wednesday morning, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
Ukrainian air forces said Kharkiv was attacked by ballistic missiles and Syniehubov said on the Telegram messaging app there were "damages to civilian non-residential infrastructure".
"Every massive Russian strike requires time for preparation. It is never a spontaneous decision. It is a deliberate choice — not only of targets but also of timing and date," Mr Zelenskyy said.
"Over 70 missiles, including ballistic ones, and more than a hundred attack drones. The targets are our energy infrastructure. They continue to fight for a blackout in Ukraine."
Mr Zelenskyy said while Ukrainian troops had managed to shoot down more than 50 missiles and a significant number of drones, there had been several hits, with power outages reported in several regions.
"I thank everyone who is working for the country, who is on combat duty, who is protecting our skies. We will restore the maximum. Russian evil will not break Ukraine and will not spoil Christmas," he added.
Separately, Dnipropetrovsk governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram: "Since the morning, the Russian army has been massively attacking the Dnipro region. It is trying to destroy the region's power system."
Ukraine's energy minister German Galushchenko said on Facebook Russia "is massively attacking the power sector" and the transmission system operator had imposed restrictions on electricity supply to minimise the impact.
Russia has intensified its attacks on the Ukrainian energy sector since spring 2024, damaging almost half of its generating capacity and causing hours-long blackouts throughout the country.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Ukrainian military launched a countrywide air alert in response to Russian cruise missile launches.
The country's largest private energy company DTEK said its generating facilities were attacked during the strike, causing "serious damages" to power equipment.
"This year, it is the 13th massive attack on the Ukrainian energy sector and the 10th massive attack on the company's energy facilities," DTEK said on Telegram.
Local authorities and the air force reported missile overflights in the eastern, central, southern and western regions.
During a previous massive missile attack on November 17, Russia launched 120 missiles and 90 drones, killing at least seven people and causing severe damage to the power system.
DTEK imposed emergency power cuts of up to eight hours across large parts of Ukraine at the time.