Biden condemns the “terrible” Russian Christmas attack on Ukraine | News of the Russian-Ukrainian war

Biden promises to increase arms shipments to Ukraine after a barrage of drones and missiles hit its power grid.

US President Joe Biden called the Russian attack on Ukraine’s power grid on Christmas Day “outrageous” and promised to “increase arms shipments to Ukraine.”

Moscow launched more than 170 missiles and drones at Ukraine on Wednesday, targeting Ukraine. Energy infrastructure. The strikes, which killed an energy worker, hit a thermal power plant and sent Ukrainians taking cover in metro stations on Christmas morning.

“The United States will continue to work tirelessly to achieve this Strengthening Ukraine’s position “In its defense against Russian forces,” the outgoing president said in a statement.

Biden added: “The purpose of this terrible attack is to cut off access to heating and electricity to the Ukrainian people during the winter and to jeopardize the safety of their grid.”

The Ukrainian Air Force said that the strikes on Ukrainian fuel and energy sources included 78 air, land and sea missiles, as well as 106 witness aircraft and other types of drones. It claimed to have intercepted 59 missiles and 54 drones, and jammed 52 other aircraft.

“Putin deliberately chose Christmas to attack. What could be more inhumane? The target is our energy infrastructure,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X.

It was the 13th large-scale attack on Ukraine’s power system this year, and the latest in a Russian campaign targeting the power grid over the winter.

Thwarting Ukrainian conspiracies

Meanwhile, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Thursday that it had foiled a Ukrainian intelligence plan to kill senior Russian officers and their families in Moscow, according to the state-run TASS news agency.

Earlier this month, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of Russia’s nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces, was killed by the Ukrainian intelligence service in Moscow when a bomb attached to an electric motorcycle exploded.

Earlier, Russia said that five people were killed in Ukrainian attacks and the downing of a drone in the Kursk-North Ossetia border region in the Caucasus on Wednesday.

Celebrating Christmas amid the attacks

Ukraine officially celebrated Christmas on December 25 for the second time, after the government last year changed the date from January 7, when most Orthodox believers celebrate, in a snub to Russia.

Nearly 200 people marched through central Kyiv singing Christmas carols.

The Christmas Day attack also targeted Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, located near the Russian border. Regional head Oleh Sinyhopov wrote on Telegram that at least seven strikes sparked fires across the city. Local authorities said that at least three people were injured.

The attacks continued throughout the night, with the Ukrainian military announcing on Thursday that it had shot down 20 of 31 drones launched by Russia.

Outnumbered Ukrainian forces are now on the defensive across the front line in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions to the south, ceding ground to better-equipped Russian forces.

The two sides are racing to gain an advantage before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, who has promised a quick end to the conflict.

This has led to fears that Washington might push Kiev to accept a settlement in Moscow’s favour.