Ukraine Recovers After 'Inhumane' Christmas Day Attacks; Biden Vows New Weapons 'Surge'

KYIV -- "Massive" Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure showed no letup as night fell on Christmas Day following what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called an “inhumane” assault by the Kremlin’s forces – leaving hundreds of thousands in the bitter cold without heating and causing blackouts in the capital, Kyiv.

"Today, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin deliberately chose Christmas to attack,” Zelenskiy said on December 25, adding that Moscow continues to “fight for a blackout” throughout the country.

“What could be more inhumane? More than 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and more than a hundred attack drones."

The Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, claimed its forces had conducted a "massive strike" on critical energy sites that were supporting Ukraine’s "military-industrial complex."

"The aim of the strike was achieved. All facilities have been hit," the ministry said in a statement.

In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden, who will leave office on January 20, offered new support and further aid for Ukraine in the face of the Christmas Day attacks.

“In the early hours of Christmas, Russia launched waves of missiles and drones against Ukrainian cities and critical energy infrastructure," Biden said in a statement.

"The purpose of this outrageous attack was to cut off the Ukrainian people’s access to heat and electricity during winter and to jeopardize the safety of its grid."

He added that "the United States and the international community must continue to stand with Ukraine until it triumphs over Russia’s aggression."

"I have directed the Department of Defense to continue its surge of weapons deliveries to Ukraine, and the United States will continue to work tirelessly to strengthen Ukraine’s position in its defense against Russian forces," he said.

Regional governors reported that six people were injured in the northeastern city of Kharkiv and one person was killed in the Dnipropetrovsk area, as residents struggled to recover amid the freezing cold.

Governor Oleh Syniehubov also reported "damages to civilian nonresidential infrastructure” in the regional capital of Kharkiv .

Kharkiv came “under a massive missile attack,” Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on the Telegram social media platform.

“A series of explosions was heard in the city and there are still ballistic missiles heading toward the city," Terekhov wrote early on December 25.

Ukrainian authorities reported that there was no letup in drone attacks into the evening of December 25, with areas around Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Chernihiv being targeted.

In Ukraine, where a majority of Christians identify as Orthodox Christians, this was the second Christmas that was officially designated by the government to be observed not on January 7, but on December 25, in line with Roman Catholic and many Western Christian traditions.

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In Russia, home to the largest number of Orthodox Christians, believers still celebrate Christmas on January 7.

From outside the country, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also condemned what he called an "ongoing assault on Ukraine's energy infrastructure."

"I pay tribute to the resilience of the Ukrainian people, and the leadership of President Zelenskiy, in the face of further drone and missile attacks from Putin's bloody and brutal war machine with no respite even at Christmas," Starmer said in a statement.

Pope Francis, in his Christmas address, made an urgent plea for "all people, all peoples, and nations [to] silence the weapons and overcome divisions."

"Let there be silence of the weapons in martyred Ukraine," Francis said while calling for negotiations to "achieve a just and lasting peace" in the war-torn country.

Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said that Russia was “again massively attacking the energy sector” on December 25.

"The transmission system operator is taking the necessary measures to limit consumption to minimize the negative consequences for the energy system,” Halushchenko wrote on Telegram.

Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak reported that the province had been under a “major attack since the morning,” with Russian forces “trying to destroy the region's power system.”

Air raid sirens rang out across Ukraine in the early morning, while the country’s air force reported that Russian Kalibr cruise missiles had been launched from the Black Sea.

Since the start of the war in February 2022, Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine’s energy sector, severely damaging the country’s power grid and causing frequent outages.

In a similar attack on December 13, more than 90 missiles and more than 200 drones were used -- but 81 of the missiles were shot down, according to Zelenskiy.

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Inside Russia, authorities said the Ukrainian military attacked the city of Lgov in the Kursk region, hitting a residential building and killing four people.

It wasn't immediately clear if the damage was caused by drones or shelling.

Russian officials also reported Ukrainian drone attacks in the Belgorod region and Voronezh regions.

The reports could not immediately be verified.