By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described an attack by Russia on Christmas Day, during which dozens of missiles and drones targeted his war-torn country’s energy grid as “inhumane”.
“Putin deliberately chose Christmas to attack. What could be more inhumane? More than 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and more than a hundred attack drones. The target is our energy system,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine woke up at 5:30 am (0330 GMT) to an air raid alarm, shortly followed by air force reports that Russia had launched Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea.
This was the 13th large-scale strike on Ukraine’s energy system this year, the latest in Russia’s campaign targeting the power grid during winter.
The air force shot down over 50 missiles, Zelenskyy said.
“Unfortunately, there are some hits. As of now, there are blackouts in several regions,” he added.
Authorities reported that engineers were working to repair the system.
State-owned energy company DTEK, however, reported that the attack severely damaged equipment at thermal power plants, while regional officials confirmed power cuts.
“Christmas morning has once again shown that nothing is sacred for the aggressor country,” said Svitlana Onyshchuk, the head of the Ivano-Frankivsk region.
She noted that part of the region was without electricity “at a time when we celebrate one of the greatest religious holidays — the bright Christmas.”
Ukraine is officially celebrating Christmas on December 25 for the second year.
The government changed the date last year from January 7, when most Orthodox believers celebrate, as a snub to Russia.
The Christmas Day attack targeted central Dnipropetrovsk, where Governor Sergiy Lysak said Russia was “trying to destroy the region’s power system.”
Lysak stated that rescue operations had been completed at the site of a strike on Kryvyi Rig, which killed one person and wounded 17 others.
