Ukraine’s second official Christmas marred by ‘endless Russian attacks’, massive missile strike
Russia launched ballistic missiles on the Ukrainian central city of Kryvyi Rih on Tuesday as Ukraine prepared to celebrate its second official Christmas.
At least one person was killed and 14 others were injured on Tuesday after a Russian ballistic missile struck a residential building in Kryvyi Rih, which is President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown, authorities said.
Military administrator Oleksandre Vilkul said the missile strike hit a residential building in the city with a population of 600,000 before the war.
“While the rest of the world is celebrating Christmas, Ukrainians continue to suffer incessant Russian attacks,” said Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets.
“The number of wounded has exceeded 14, including a child. One person was killed,” national police said. “The monsters landed a direct hit on a four-storey residential block with 32 apartments,” the head of the city’s military administration, Oleksandr Vilkul, wrote on Telegram.
Social media footage showed one side of the building had almost completely collapsed. “Unfortunately, we are preparing for difficult news,” Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul wrote on his Telegram channel.
Russia maintained that it does not deliberately target civilians, although thousands have been killed since Moscow launched its invasion in 2022.
Kryvyi Rih, located about 80 kilometres from the front line, has been frequently targeted by Russian strikes since the February 2022 invasion. It is a steelmaking city with a pre-war population of more than 600,000.
Massive attack on Ukraine’s energy sector
Russia also attacked Ukraine’s energy system and cities in its eastern region with cruise and ballistic missiles on Wednesday morning, Ukraine’s energy minister and local officials said.
At least six people were wounded in a missile attack on Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine on Wednesday morning, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
Ukraine’s energy minister German Galushchenko said in a Facebook post that Russia “is massively attacking the power sector” and that 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.
Ukraine’s official Christmas
The strike came as Ukraine prepared to celebrate Christmas for the second time on December 25 officially, news agency Associated Press reported.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed legislation in July 2023 to bring Ukraine’s public Christmas holiday in line with the majority of other European countries, rather than the later date followed in Russia.
The shift sought to assert Ukraine’s national identity amid Russia’s full-scale invasion.
(With inputs from agencies)
