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Airstrike alerts ring out in Ukraine on Christmas Day: Millions across the war-torn nation wake to the wail of sirens as Putin’s planes take off from Belarus, after Russian airstrikes kill 10 in Kherson .
- Air raid sirens have been wailing across the Ukraine on Christmas Day.
- Unconfirmed reports say that the alarms were triggered by Russian planes in Belarus.
- On Christmas Eve, Russia bombed Kherson, killing 10 and injuring dozens.
Ukrainians in Kyiv and other regions of the country woke up this Christmas morning to falling snow and blaring air raid sirens.
Kyiv urged people to go to shelters after the air alert was announced, while unconfirmed reports on Ukrainian social media said the alert may have been declared after Russian planes took off in Belarus.
It comes as Russian airstrikes killed 10 in Kherson on Christmas Eve and injured 58, in what President Volodymyr Zelensky said was an act of “terror”.
The Ukrainian president offered a defiant message of hope to his people this Christmas, vowing never to back down as his nation remains under siege from Russia.
A video captured the moment air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine on Christmas Day as snow fell.
Lisa Shtanko, 8, watches as a military vehicle drives past her home in the town of Lyman just two days before Christmas.
Gleb Petrov, 14, looks on as he sits with his family in a basement in the town of Bakhmut in the days leading up to Christmas.
Ukrainians in Kyiv and other regions of the country woke up this morning to snowfall and air-raid sirens (after the Russian bombing of Kherson yesterday).
A wounded man lies on a street after the Russian shelling of the Ukrainian city of Kherson on December 24.
In an address to the nation to mark Christmas Eve, Zelensky urged his compatriots to persevere through a harsh winter despite the absence of loved ones killed or exiled, power outages, destruction and the threat of bombing.
Earlier on Christmas Eve, the bombing ordered by Vladimir Putin left at least 10 dead and 55 injured in the city of Kherson, as Zelensky condemned the “terror” of the attack.
In his address to the nation, the President said: ‘Tears will be replaced by joy, despair will be followed by hope, and death will be defeated by life.
‘We will celebrate our holidays! As always. We will smile and be happy. As always. The difference is one – we will not wait for a miracle, we create it ourselves.
On the day that marks 10 months since the start of the Russian invasion, shells rained down around a busy market and sparked a fire in the southern port city that Kyiv forces recaptured in November.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has offered a defiant message of hope to his people this Christmas, vowing never to back down as his nation remains under siege from Russia.
For many Ukrainians, Christmas this year will be celebrated in the dark and cold, in constant fear of Russian attacks.
Historically, Orthodox Christians in Ukraine had celebrated Christmas on January 7, just like in Russia.
However, in an attempt to further distance itself from the enemy, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has allowed parishes to celebrate Christmas on December 25 along with most of the Western world.
Zelensky also shared a message on Telegram on Saturday condemning the latest Russian attack on Kherson.
He called the attack “terror…killing for the sake of intimidation and pleasure.”
“It’s the real life of Ukraine… The world must see and understand what absolute evil we are fighting against,” he said.