On Wednesday, while the world celebrated Christmas in honor of Jesus’ birth, Russia launched a major attack on Ukraine. Russian forces targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, destroyed drones, and derailed a thermal power project. Many Ukrainians took refuge in metro stations as a result of the assault. Russia conducted 78 air, land, and water strikes on Ukrainian oil and energy resources, while the Ukrainian Air Force responded with 106 drone attacks, shooting down 59 drones.
A Russian woman died, and three others were injured when a drone fell. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiha reported that a Russian plane passed through Moldovan and Romanian airspace. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Putin of timing the attack deliberately on Christmas and questioned the inhumanity of such actions.
Since Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022, more than 600,000 Russians have died, while 80,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed, and 400,000 have been wounded. Casualty numbers on both sides may be even higher. On December 21, drones attacked two high-rise buildings in Kazan, Russia, likely in retaliation for Russian military actions.