Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky condemns Putin’s massive Christmas Day missile attack as ‘inhumane’
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Ukrainian president accuses Moscow of launching vast missile and drone attack on Christmas Day. Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned an “inhumane” attack by Russia on Christmas Day, as he accused Vladimir Putin’s forces of launching a vast assault on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
![[Rescuers evacuate a local resident from a residential building heavily damaged during a Russian missile attack]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/25/07/2024-12-24T183349Z_1148333738_RC2UVBAE17E8_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-KRYVYI-RIH.jpg)
The strikes wounded at least six people in the city of Kharkiv and killed one in the region of Dnipropetrovsk, local governors said. Half a million people were left without heating in Kharkiv and blackouts were reported in Kyiv. 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.
“Putin deliberately chose Christmas for an attack. What could be more inhumane?” Mr Zelensky said. “They continue to fight for a blackout in Ukraine.”. It came a day after at least one person was killed and 15 injured in Mr Zelensky’s hometown after a ballistic missile struck an apartment building in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih.
“The monsters landed a direct hit on a four-storey residential block with 32 apartments,” said local military chief Oleksandr Vilkul. 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.
