Overview
- Ukraine said Russia launched 131 drones overnight, with 106 intercepted and at least 22 hitting 15 locations, causing blackouts across Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa.
- Local officials reported civilian casualties on Christmas Day, including an 80-year-old woman killed in a Chernihiv apartment strike and a worker killed at Kherson’s central market.
- Ukraine’s military and security services said Storm Shadow missiles and domestically produced long‑range drones struck Russia’s Novoshakhtinsk refinery, Temryuk fuel tanks and an Orenburg gas facility.
- Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses downed at least 141 Ukrainian drones overnight, with debris reported over multiple regions and temporary flight restrictions at some airports.
- Zelensky said he held a nearly hour‑long call with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on advancing the 20‑point plan, and he alleged correlations between Chinese satellite imagery and subsequent Russian strikes.