Russia attacked Ukraine's energy system and some cities with cruise and ballistic missiles plus drones, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

A large-scale Russian missile and drone attack targeting Ukraine ’s energy system on Christmas Day has been condemned as “inhumane” by president Volodymyr Zelensky. Half a million people were left without heating in Kharkiv in temperatures just a few degrees above freezing, as blackouts were reported in Kyiv and other regions.

Russia launched aerial attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector “on a massive scale” overnight into Wednesday, local authorities said, amid intensified bombardment that has left Ukraine in a precarious position as the war grinds into a third winter.