
Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of long-range drone attacks overnight into Christmas morning, as fighting showed no signs of slowing despite the holiday.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 131 drones between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Of that number, 106 were either shot down or electronically suppressed, while 22 drones struck targets across at least 15 locations. As of Thursday morning, Ukrainian authorities warned that additional Russian drones were still airborne.
In southern Ukraine, Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper said Russian forces targeted port and industrial infrastructure, damaging facilities and killing at least one person. Two others were injured in the attacks, he said.
Further northeast, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (SES) reported that at least one person was killed and 14 injured in the Kharkiv region over the past 24 hours due to Russian strikes. The SES also confirmed that a drone hit a high-rise residential building in Chernihiv, alongside attacks on energy infrastructure in the city.
Ukraine’s state electricity operator, Ukrenergo, said the strikes caused power outages in several regions, including Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa. Power consumption restrictions were imposed nationwide throughout Thursday as emergency repairs continued.
Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba condemned the attacks, saying Russia continued to deliberately target Ukraine’s logistics, ports and critical infrastructure even during the Christmas holidays.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed its air defenses shot down at least 141 Ukrainian drones overnight, including nine over the Moscow region. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said emergency services were deployed to sites where drone debris had fallen.
The overnight exchanges underscore the intensity of the conflict as it stretches into a fourth year, with civilian areas and critical infrastructure continuing to bear the brunt of the violence.