Christmas Morning Chaos: Ukraine and Russia's Drone War Escalates

A Grim Christmas Morning

In a night of relentless attacks, Ukraine and Russia hurled drones at each other, turning Christmas morning into a grim scene.

• Russia sent 131 drones Ukraine's way, but not all made it through.
• Ukraine's air force managed to take down or disable 106 of them.
• 22 drones hit 15 different spots, causing damage and casualties.

Odesa Takes a Hard Hit

The southern city of Odesa was heavily impacted.

• Governor Oleh Kiper reported that Russia aimed for the port and industrial areas.
• Buildings were damaged, and at least one person was killed.
• Two others were injured in the attack.

Kharkiv and Chernihiv Under Fire

• Northeastern Kharkiv region: One person killed, 14 injured in Russian strikes.
• Chernihiv: A drone struck a high-rise apartment building, and several energy infrastructure targets were hit.
• Governor Viacheslav Chaus confirmed two people killed and two more injured in Chernihiv.
• Power outages occurred in Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Odesa.
• Ukraine enforced power consumption restrictions throughout the day.

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Speaks Out

Oleksiy Kuleba criticized Russia's actions, stating that even during the Christmas holidays, Russia continued to target Ukrainian logistics, ports, and critical infrastructure.

Russia's Claims and Counterattacks

• Russia claimed it shot down 141 drones, with nine falling over the Moscow region.
• Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported that emergency services were working to clean up the debris.

Attacks on Russian Territory

• Western Bryansk region: One person hospitalized after being injured by shrapnel from a drone attack. An apartment building was destroyed.
• Southern Russia's Krasnodar Krai: The port of Temryuk was attacked, causing two tanks of petroleum products to catch fire.
• Temporary flight restrictions were put in place at airports in Krasnodar and Yaroslavl to ensure safety.

Previous Day's Drone Strikes

The night's strikes came after multiple waves of Ukrainian drones were launched into Russia the day before.

• Russia's Defense Ministry reported shooting down at least 387 Ukrainian drones in a single day, the highest number reported since the war began.
• This included more than a dozen drones over the Moscow region.