A member of the Ukrainian police standing alongside buildings destroyed in separate air strikes that were launched at Kharkiv in November. (AFP: Sergey Bobok/File)
In short:
Ukraine's north-eastern city of Kharkiv has been targeted in missile strikes that injured at least six people early on Christmas Day, the city's mayor said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there were blackouts in several reasons due to the attack.
Further south, one person was killed and 17 others injured in separate strikes launched in the Dnipro region, according to local authorities.
Russian missile strikes on energy infrastructure in regions across Ukraine have killed at least one person and injured at least 20 more in the early hours of Christmas Day, according to local authorities.
In the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, a "massive missile attack" hit about 7am, local time, and injured at least six people, the city's mayor said.
Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov said in a statement on Telegram that he believed ballistic missiles were used in the attack.
"Kharkiv is under a massive missile attack," Cr Terekhov said.
"A series of explosions were heard in the city, and there are still ballistic missiles heading towards the city."
Kharkiv's regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov, said on Telegram that there were "damages to civilian non-residential infrastructure" in the strikes.
He said he had counted seven Russian strikes and said casualties were still being assessed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country's air defence shot down over 50 Russian missiles out of 70 launched in the "inhuman" Christmas Day attack, with about 10 making it through.
"Today, Putin deliberately chose Christmas to attack. What could be more inhuman? More than 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and more than a hundred attack drones," Mr Zelenskyy said on Telegram.
He said there were hits and blackouts in several regions because of the strike.
"The targets are our energy. They continue to fight for a blackout in Ukraine."
The Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko wrote on Facebook on Wednesday that energy operators have limited supply to minimise the impacts of the strikes.
In the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, people sought shelter in an underground metro station as air raid sirens rang out on Christmas Day. (Reuters: Thomas Pete)
In the Dnipro region, more than 200 kilometres south of Kharkiv, Russian forces appeared to be "trying to destroy the region's power system", according to a statement on Telegram by Governor Serhiy Lysak.
"Since the morning, the Russian army has been massively attacking the Dnipro region," Mr Lysak said.
A search and rescue operation after the strikes on Christmas Eve found a 43-year-old man had been killed and 17 others wounded, the governor said.
Ukraine's largest private energy company, DTEK, said in a statement after 8am that the strikes had hit its power plants, severely damaging energy equipment.
"This year, it is the 13th massive attack on the Ukrainian energy sector and the 10th massive attack on the company's energy facilities," DTEK said in a statement on Telegram.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Ukrainian military launched a countrywide air alert in response to Russian cruise missile launches.
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Local authorities and the air force reported missile sightings in the skies over the eastern, central, southern and western regions.
Air raid sirens rang out in cities across the country, with the Ukrainian military issuing alerts for Russian Kalibr cruise missiles being launched from the Black Sea.
Russia's defence ministry said on Wednesday that its forces had shot down 59 Ukrainian drones overnight, while the Ukrainian Air Force reported the launch of Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea, although it was not initially clear where they were headed.
Russia has intensified its attacks on the Ukrainian energy sector since spring 2004, damaging almost half of its generating capacity and causing hours-long blackouts throughout the country.
In November, Russia launched almost 200 missiles and drones targeting Ukraine's energy grid, with President Volodymyr Zelensky alleging "cluster munitions" were fired in what he called a "despicable escalation" almost three years into the war.
The country has also accelerated its advance across eastern Ukraine in recent months, looking to secure as much territory as possible before US president-elect Donald Trump comes to power in January.
The Republican has promised to bring a swift end to the nearly three-year-long conflict, without proposing any concrete terms for a ceasefire or peace deal.
Moscow's army claims to have seized more than 190 Ukrainian settlements this year, with Kyiv struggling to hold the line in the face of man power and ammunition shortages.
Russia's defence ministry said on Wednesday its forces had shot down 59 Ukrainian drones overnight.
AFP/Reuters
