Russia launched an unprecedented aerial assault on Ukraine on December 23, 2025, firing 635 drones and 38 missiles overnight in what Ukrainian officials described as one of the largest combined strikes since the war began nearly four years ago. The Ukrainian air force reported successfully intercepting 587 drones and 34 missiles, but the attack still caused devastating damage to the country's already fragile energy infrastructure.
At least three people lost their lives in the assault, including a four-year-old child in Zhytomyr Oblast who was killed when debris struck a residential building. Two other fatalities were reported in Kyiv Oblast, where emergency services worked through the night to rescue survivors trapped under rubble. The attack left three western oblasts—Rivne, Ternopil, and Khmelnytskyi—almost completely without electricity, plunging millions into darkness during the coldest days of winter.
Ukraine's Energy Ministry confirmed this was the ninth large-scale Russian attack on the country's power system this year, part of Moscow's apparent strategy to break Ukrainian morale by targeting civilian infrastructure. Power restoration efforts were immediately launched, with utility workers facing dangerous conditions to repair damaged substations and transmission lines across the affected regions.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the timing of the attack in a video address, calling it "an extremely clear signal of Russian priorities." He noted with bitter irony that the assault came just two days before Christmas, "when people want to be with their families, at home, in safety." The strike occurred amid ongoing diplomatic negotiations, making the escalation particularly provocative.
Russia had previously rejected Ukrainian proposals for a Christmas truce, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stating that any ceasefire would only provide Ukraine with a temporary respite to regroup its forces. International observers have condemned the attacks on civilian infrastructure as potential war crimes, with the United Nations calling for accountability.
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