Russia launches combined missile and drone strikes on Ukraine as Zelensky slams Putin for cynical timing

Russian forces launched over 70 missiles and 100 drones into Ukraine on the morning of 25 December in a large-scale combined attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday.

Zelensky said Putin had deliberately timed the large-scale attack to coincide with Christmas, which Ukraine now celebrates on 24 December, adding that Ukraine’s energy infrastructure was the main target of the strikes.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) had managed to shoot down over 50 missiles and most of the Russian drones, while some regions of Ukraine have faced power outages, he continued.

One person was killed as Russian troops struck energy infrastructure in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, and at least six people were injured in a ballistic missile attack on the city of Kharkiv, in the east of the country, according to local officials.

Ukraine’s Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said that thermal power plants operated by the Ukrainian energy company DTEK had been hit and its equipment seriously damaged, while the national grid operator Ukrenergo said there were now some limits on electricity use in place.

The AFU said Russian forces had used Kalibr cruise missiles launched from the Black Sea and scrambled several bombers in the course of the onslaught.