Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s ‘inhumane’ Christmas Day attack leaves half a million without heating

Russia’s defence ministry has confirmed it conducted a “massive strike” on what it claimed were critical energy facilities supporting the work of Kyiv’s “military-industrial complex”.

“The aim of the strike was achieved. All facilities have been hit,” it said in a statement.

One person was killed and at least six wounded, Ukrainian officials said. Ukraine’s energy minister German Galushchenko warned that restrictions on the country’s electricity supply were in place as a result.

Ukraine’s military said its air defences downed 59 Russian missiles and 54 drones overnight and on Wednesday morning.

Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and more than 100 attack drones were used to strike Ukraine’s power sources, in what he called an “inhumane” attack on Christmas Day.

British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has condemned Russia’s “bloody and brutal” strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid “with no respite even at Christmas”.

Pope Francis has used his Christmas message to call for talks between Kyiv and Moscow to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

In his Christmas Day address, the Catholic leader mentioned the Ukraine conflict directly and called for “the boldness needed to open the door to negotiation”.

Speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to thousands of people in the square below, the pope said: “May the sound of arms be silenced in war-torn Ukraine!”

He also called for “gestures of dialogue and encounter, in order to achieve a just and lasting peace”.

Francis, who has been pope since 2013, was criticised by Ukrainian officials this year when he said the country should have the courage of the “white flag” to negotiate an end to the war with Russia.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, Vladimir Putin has faced persistent opposition not only in Western capitals but also inside his own country. For Russians though, criticising the president comes at a cost – one Salavat Abylkalikov knows all too well.

Abylkalikov, 38, a former professor at one of Russia’s most prestigious universities, says he was compelled to flee Moscow last year to escape being conscripted to fight in the Ukraine war, and protect his wife and daughter from harm and separation.

Abylkalikov is one of 400 academics from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine who, since the start of the war, have fled or sought help to leave from the Council for At-Risk Academics (Cara), a British charity that assists foreign scholars looking to escape dangerous places or situations.

Nearly 300 of the academics are from Ukraine, making it the highest number of requests for support from scholars in a European country since the 1930s.

My colleague Arpan Rai reports:

Ukraine’s largest private energy company DTEK said its generating facilities were attacked as part of the massive assault by Vladimir Putin’s forces, with power equipment seriously damaged, in the 13th large-scale assault on the energy sector this year.

“We appeal to every ally of Ukraine to end this state-sponsored terrorism now by giving our armed forces the air defence ammunition they need to protect essential energy infrastructure,” DTEK Cchief executive Maxim Timchenko said.

Dnipropetrovsk governor Serhiy Lysak said the fatality there occurred in a Russian attack on regional power facilities.

“Since the morning, the Russian army has been massively attacking the Dnipro region. It is trying to destroy the region’s power system,” he said.

The Australian government is being urged to urgently evacuate a 38-year-old citizen who sustained severe injuries after stepping on a landmine while fighting on Ukraine’s eastern front.

Friends of the injured man, who was yesterday reported to be receiving treatment in a Ukrainian hospital, told The Guardian that without immediate specialist care, he risks losing his limbs.

A spokesperson for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed on Tuesday that consular assistance was being provided but declined to comment further, citing privacy concerns.

The Australian fighter recounted his harrowing ordeal in a statement shared by a supporter. “I nearly bled out,” he said, describing the 20-hour evacuation and the lack of immediate first aid.

Glenn Kolomeitz, a former Australian army officer, has called on the government to arrange an urgent evacuation to ensure the man receives proper medical treatment. “He needs surgery very rapidly,” Mr Kolomeitz stressed.

Nearly 47 per cent of Ukrainians feel that the country should join Nato even if some of the territories are under Russian occupation, a new survey suggests.

The findings from the survey by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation and the Razumkov Centre, reported by the Kyiv Independent, are broadly in line with suggestions made recently by Volodymr Zelensky for a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.

The recent polls reveal an increase of 14 per centage point from a similar survey conducted in June 2023.

The Russian strikes condemned as “inhumane” by Volodymyr Zelensky have wounded at least six people in the northeastern city of Kharkiv and killed one in the region of Dnipropetrovsk, the governors there said.

Half a million people in Kharkiv region were left without heating, in temperatures just a few degrees Celsius above zero, while there were blackouts in the capital Kyiv and elsewhere.

The Ukrainian president said more than 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and more than 100 attack drones were used to strike Ukraine’s power sources. Kyiv managed to shoot down at least 50 missiles and a significant number of drones, he said.