Russia's Christmas attack: air defense forces shot down half of the launched Shaheds and the majority of missiles.

During a massive attack on Christmas, December 25, Russia launched 78 missiles and 106 Shaheds at Ukraine. Overall, air defense forces intercepted 113 aerial targets, including 59 missiles and 54 strike drones.

This was reported by the Ukrainian Air Force. It was noted that on the night of December 25, Russian occupiers carried out a combined strike on Ukraine's fuel and energy sector using missiles of various types from air, ground, and sea bases, as well as Shaheds and imitation drones.

A total of 184 enemy aerial targets were recorded in Ukrainian airspace. Specifically:

• 2 ballistic missiles KN-23 (launch area - Voronezh region);
• 10 surface-to-air guided missiles S-300/S-400 (launch area - Belgorod region);
• 12 cruise missiles "Kalibr" (launched from the Black Sea);
• 50 cruise missiles X-101/X-55cm from strategic bombers Tu-95ms (launch areas - Volgograd region, Caspian Sea);
• 4 guided aviation missiles X-59/X-69 from tactical aviation aircraft (launch areas - Belgorod region);
• 106 Shaheds and various types of imitation drones (launched from the areas of Bryansk, Millerovo, Orel, Primorsko-Akhtarsk).
  
  

To repel the enemy's air assault, air defense missile units, electronic warfare assets, and mobile fire groups of the Air Force and Defense Forces of Ukraine were involved. According to preliminary data, as of 12:00, the interception of 113 aerial targets has been confirmed:

• 55 cruise missiles X-101, X-55cm, "Kalibr";
• 4 guided aviation missiles X-59/X-69;
• 54 Shaheds/imitation drones, with another 52 not reaching their targets (spatially lost).
  
  

"The enemy attacked Ukrainian energy facilities in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Zaporizhzhia. Unfortunately, as a result of the Russian attack, there have been damages," the Air Force stated.

Attack on December 25, 2024

Russia launched a new massive attack on Ukraine in the morning of December 25. Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko emphasized that the energy system of Ukraine was under attack from Russia. In particular, Russia struck at DTEK thermal power plants. As a result, equipment was seriously damaged.

Ukraine has reinstated hourly power outage schedules. People's Deputy Serhiy Nahornyak stated that in regions without impacts, power supply will be restored in the coming hours. Additionally, the damage to the energy sector is not critical.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky stated that each Russian massive strike requires preparation time and is never a spontaneous decision. According to him, the attack on December 25 is a deliberate choice not only of targets but also of time and date.