On the night of 25 December 2024, Russia launched a large-scale combined attack on Ukraine’s fuel and energy infrastructure using air-, land-, and sea-based missiles, along with Shahed attack UAVs and other imitation drones. Ukrainian air defence successfully intercepted 113 enemy targets.
According to the Air Force, radio engineering troops detected and tracked a total of 184 Russian air targets, including:
- 2 KN-23 ballistic missiles launched from the Voronezh Region;
- 10 S-300/S-400 anti-aircraft guided missiles launched from the Belgorod Region;
- 12 Kalibr cruise missiles fired from the Black Sea;
- 50 X-101/X-55cm cruise missiles launched from Tu-95MS bombers over the Volgograd Region and Caspian Sea;
- 4 X-59/X-69 guided missiles launched from tactical aircraft in the Belgorod Region;
- 106 Shahed attack UAVs and simulators from various launch areas in Russia, including Bryansk, Millerovo, and Orel.
Of the 184 detected targets, the Ukrainian Defence Forces successfully shot down:
- 55 X-101, X-55cm, and Kalibr cruise missiles;
- 4 X-59/X-69 guided missiles
- 54 Shahed drones/simulators, with 52 others failing to reach their targets.
Russian forces targeted energy facilities across multiple Regions, including Kharkiv, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Zaporizhzhya. The attacks caused casualties and damage to critical infrastructure.
Anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare systems, and mobile fire groups from the Air Force and Defence Forces were actively involved in repelling the assault.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had earlier reported that more than 70 missiles and over 100 drones were part of the attack, with Russian forces deliberately timing the strikes for Christmas.