Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone assault in Ukraine on Christmas Day, prompting condemnation from President-elect Donald Trump’s designated envoy, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg. The barrage targeted energy infrastructure across the country, according to Ukrainian authorities, and left multiple regions without electricity.
President Volodymyr Zelensky labeled the attack “inhuman” on social platform X. “Today, Putin deliberately chose Christmas for an attack. What could be more inhuman?” he wrote.
Zelensky described the strikes as a “conscious choice” by Russian forces to cause outages in multiple parts of the country. He also said Ukrainian forces shot down more than 50 missiles and a significant number of drones, noting that the attack was specifically aimed at destroying Ukraine’s power supply.
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The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that its forces had carried out what it called a “massive strike with long-range precision weapons and strike drones” on facilities crucial to “the military-industrial complex,” according to its daily briefing on Telegram. The ministry claimed that “all facilities were hit,” stating that the operation’s goal had been achieved.
Kellogg, the incoming special envoy to Ukraine and Russia appointed by Trump, condemned the strikes. “Christmas should be a time of peace, yet Ukraine was brutally attacked on Christmas Day. Launching large-scale missile and drone attacks on the day of the Lord’s birth is wrong,” he wrote on X.
He added that the United States was “more resolved than ever to bring peace to the region,” while also stressing the need for renewed diplomatic efforts between the warring parties.
Kellogg has pushed for a ceasefire contingent upon Ukraine’s willingness to engage in peace talks, noted The Hill. He has suggested that any discussion of NATO membership for Ukraine be postponed in order to “bring Russia to the negotiating table” and strike a deal with “security guarantees.”
Trump has also stated on the campaign trail that he would end the conflict in a single day if elected. He has criticized the Biden administration’s decision to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied weapons to hit inside Russian territory.
DTEK, Ukraine’s largest energy company, stated that the bombardment caused “serious damage” to its thermal power plant equipment. According to its official Telegram account, it was the 13th assault on Ukraine’s energy sector this year.
The energy company’s CEO, Maxim Timchenko, was quoted by NPR as saying, “Denying light and warmth to millions of peace-loving people as they celebrate Christmas is a depraved and evil act that must be answered.” Workers immediately began repairs once shelling subsided, according to statements from the company, and the effort to restore electricity to multiple regions was still ongoing.
Ukrainian officials said at least one individual was killed in the Dnipropetrovsk region and several were injured elsewhere as missiles and drones slammed into various sites, NPR reported.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X that one Russian missile had passed through Moldovan and Romanian airspace, calling the attacks “Christmas terror” and alleging it was a direct response to proposals for a “Christmas ceasefire.”
Vice Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba noted on Telegram that heating was disrupted for more than 100 residential buildings, with hundreds of thousands left without heat in different areas.
NPR cited local officials in Russia’s Kursk region who said that four people were killed and five injured after Ukrainian shelling. The acting governor of the region, Alexander Khinshtein, said on Telegram that the gas and electricity supply in one town had been disrupted.
U.S. President Joe Biden described the Christmas Day strike as an “outrageous attack” meant to deprive Ukrainians of heat and electricity during winter. He added that he had instructed the Defense Department to continue a “surge of weapons deliveries” to Ukraine, saying, “The Ukrainian people deserve to live in peace and safety.”
Trump met with Zelensky in New York City earlier this year and again in Paris for further discussions involving French President Emmanuel Macron. During these meetings, Trump reiterated his intention to bring the war to a swift conclusion.
He said over the weekend that Putin expressed readiness to meet “as soon as possible,” adding, “We have to end that war. That war is horrible, horrible.”
