Russia yesterday launched a massive missile and drone barrage targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, striking a thermal power plant and prompting Ukrainians to take shelter in metro stations on Christmas morning.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a statement on X that more than 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and more than 100 attack drones were used to strike Ukraine’s power sources.
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said that one Russian missile passed Moldovan and Romanian airspace.
Photo: Reuters
“Putin deliberately chose Christmas for an attack. What could be more inhumane?” Zelenskiy said. “They continue to fight for a blackout in Ukraine.”
Ukraine had shot down at least 50 missiles and a significant number of drones, he said.
Ukrainian Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko said in a statement on Facebook that Russia again “massively attacks energy infrastructure.”
The Ukrainian Air Force sent alerts for multiple missiles fired at the Kharkiv, Dnipro and Poltava regions.
“The [electricity] distribution system operator takes the necessary measures to limit consumption to minimize negative consequences for the power system,” Halushchenko said. “As soon as the security situation allows, energy workers will establish the damage caused.”
Ukraine’s biggest private energy company, DTEK, said that Russia struck one of its thermal power plants, making it the 13th attack on Ukraine’s power grid this year.
“Denying light and warmth to millions of peace-loving people as they celebrate Christmas is a depraved and evil act that must be answered,” DTEK chief executive officer Maxim Timchenko wrote on X.
Ukrainian state energy operator, Ukrenergo, applied pre-emptive power outages across the country, due to a “massive missile attack,” leading to electricity going out in several districts of the capital, Kyiv.
At least seven strikes targeted Kharkiv, sparking fires across the city, regional head Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram.
At least three people were injured, local authorities said.
“Kharkiv is under massive missile fire. A series of explosions rang out in the city and there are still ballistic missiles flying in the direction of the city. Stay in safe places,” Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
IDENTITY: A sex extortion scandal involving Thai monks has deeply shaken public trust in the clergy, with 11 monks implicated in financial misconduct Reverence for the saffron-robed Buddhist monkhood is deeply woven into Thai society, but a sex extortion scandal has besmirched the clergy and left the devout questioning their faith. Thai police this week arrested a woman accused of bedding at least 11 monks in breach of their vows of celibacy, before blackmailing them with thousands of secretly taken photos of their trysts. The monks are said to have paid nearly US$12 million, funneled out of their monasteries, funded by donations from laypeople hoping to increase their merit and prospects for reincarnation. The scandal provoked outrage over hypocrisy in the monkhood, concern that their status
The United States Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday it plans to adopt rules to bar companies from connecting undersea submarine communication cables to the US that include Chinese technology or equipment. “We have seen submarine cable infrastructure threatened in recent years by foreign adversaries, like China,” FCC Chair Brendan Carr said in a statement. “We are therefore taking action here to guard our submarine cables against foreign adversary ownership, and access as well as cyber and physical threats.” The United States has for years expressed concerns about China’s role in handling network traffic and the potential for espionage. The U.S. has
Trinidad and Tobago declared a new state of emergency on Friday after authorities accused a criminal network operating in prisons across the country of plotting to kill key government officials and attack public institutions. It is the second state of emergency to be declared in the twin-island republic in a matter of months. In December last year, authorities took similar action, citing concerns about gang violence. That state of emergency lasted until mid-April. Police said that smuggled cellphones enabled those involved in the plot to exchange encrypted messages. Months of intelligence gathering led investigators to believe the targets included senior police officers,
A disillusioned Japanese electorate feeling the economic pinch goes to the polls today, as a right-wing party promoting a “Japanese first” agenda gains popularity, with fears over foreigners becoming a major election issue. Birthed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the Sanseito Party has widened its appeal ahead of today’s upper house vote — railing against immigration and dragging rhetoric that was once confined to Japan’s political fringes into the mainstream. Polls show the party might only secure 10 to 15 of the 125 seats up for grabs, but it is
RSS