Deadly Russian airstrikes cause power outages – DW – 12/23/2025

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadeful said on Tuesday that whether a ceasefire is agreed or not, Russia will remain a threat to the security of Ukraine and Europe.

In fact, Wadefull said he believed Moscow would try to use any pause in hostilities to prepare an attack on the NATO member, though in comments to the German dpa news agency he also said he did not want to speculate on what might happen in the future.

While Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted that Russia is not planning to attack NATO, the German diplomat nevertheless urged allies to “prepare themselves for the possibility that this could happen.”

Wadeful pointed out that NATO is expanding its defense structures, especially in its eastern part. Germany is also beefing up its armed forces with increased spending and personnel in response to the threat posed by Russia.

The External Affairs Minister said, “We have no reason to reduce our efforts. Quite the contrary.”

Putin has identified NATO’s alleged eastward expansion as the so-called “root cause” of the conflict, which began when Russian forces annexed the Crimea peninsula and parts of eastern Ukraine in 2014.

These measures came soon after the pro-Russian government was ousted by a pro-European rebellion.

What else did Wadeful say?

• If the ongoing peace talks brokered by Washington produce any truth or outcome, which can be seen as a victory in Moscow, then European countries should not be complacent.
• Russian military success in Ukraine ‘would pose a serious threat to NATO’
• Moscow can only be stopped by a ‘strong position, unity within the coalition and capable armed forces’.
• Credible Western security guarantees for Kiev, above all from the US, are a basic condition for Ukraine to agree to any concessions
• ‘We saw no real willingness’ from Moscow to reach a peace deal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had received a “detailed report” from his chief negotiator Rustam Umerov and Andrey Hnatov, chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on the progress of peace talks with the US.

Zelensky said Umerov and Hnatov “worked productively” with Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and “have prepared a number of draft documents.”

These documents address security guarantees for Ukraine as well as an “infrastructure” for the country’s post-war recovery and ending the conflict.

“Each round of negotiations and meetings contributes to the defense of Ukraine’s interests, and we will continue this work in the same constructive manner,” Zelensky said. He thanked Kiev’s European allies for their continued support and said Ukraine looked forward to “continuing dialogue with the United States.”

But he reiterated his call that diplomacy efforts should be accompanied by “necessary pressure on Russia.”

Zelensky said, “Every Russian attack against Ukraine and intensified Russian attacks on the front lines prove that Ukraine’s commitment to ending the war is far greater than Russia’s.”

Russia claimed on Tuesday that its forces had captured the towns of Andreevka and Prilipka.

In a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry said units of the Vostok battle group “continued to advance” and had “liberated” Andreevka in the eastern Dnepropetrovsk region.

The ministry said its forces also captured Prilipka in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region.

The ministry also confirmed that Russia had targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure in a massive attack overnight, which Moscow said involved Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.

Russia launched a massive drone and missile bombardment on Tuesday morning despite ongoing talks between US, Ukrainian, Russian and European officials.

As the war has dragged on, US-led shuttle diplomacy has gained momentum, much to the obvious frustration of Donald Trump, who famously vowed to end the war within his first 24 hours in office.

Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are meeting separately with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators to discuss amendments to the US peace proposal.

The latest round of meetings was held in Miami over the weekend

Here’s what you need to know about the talks to end Russia’s nearly four-year-old war:

• Trump said Monday that talks were “going well,” while Witkoff described the talks with both sides as “productive and constructive.”
• The Kremlin has been less positive in its assessment, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying the peace deal is a ‘work in progress’ rather than a turning point in the war.
• Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said there has been ‘slow progress’
• But Ryabkov criticized Ukraine’s European allies for ‘extremely harmful, malicious efforts … to torpedo’ peace talks.
• Volodymyr Zelensky said talks are ‘quite solid’, but acknowledged that major differences remain
• The main stumbling block is believed to be Russia’s insistence that Ukraine withdraw and hand over the entire eastern Donbass region.
• Kiev has refused to accept this, while also insisting on Western-backed security guarantees to deter Moscow from any future aggression.

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko condemned Moscow for the “deliberate and reprehensible” attack on Christmas Eve.

“While people were preparing for the holidays, the enemy [is] “Trying to save Ukrainian families left without electricity, heat and a sense of security,” she said in an online post.

Sviridenko said energy infrastructure in the west of the country suffered “the most damage.”

Emergency power outages were being scheduled due to the damage.

“They will be removed as soon as the energy system is stabilized,” he said. He said work was underway to restore power “as quickly as possible.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday morning that at least three people had been killed in Russia’s “massive attacks” across Ukraine overnight.

A four-year-old child was killed in a drone strike on a residential building in the Zhytomyr region, west of Kiev. Two other deaths – one in Kiev and the other in Khmelnytsky – were also confirmed, Zelensky said on Friday.

Ukraine’s president said the attack primarily targeted the country’s energy sector and “essentially the entire infrastructure of daily life.”

Zelensky said the attacks came as Ukrainian and Russian officials met separately with U.S. mediators for peace talks, a “very clear signal about Russia’s priorities.”

Zelensky said, “An attack before Christmas, when people just want to be at home and safe, with their families. This attack was carried out in the middle of negotiations essentially aimed at ending this war.”

The president reiterated calls for action from Ukraine’s Western allies, saying Moscow “needs to be pushed toward guarantees of peace and security.”

He urged more air defense supplies as well as funding to purchase weapons and ensure energy supplies.

Poland and its allies have deployed aircraft to ensure the security of Polish airspace after Russia launched airstrikes targeting western Ukraine.

“Fighters have been deployed, and ground-based air-defense systems as well as radar reconnaissance systems have been put on readiness,” the Operational Command of the Armed Forces of Poland said in a post on Twitter.

“These actions are preventive in nature and are intended to secure and preserve airspace, particularly in areas adjacent to threat areas.”

Poland, a NATO member, shares about 530 kilometers (330 mi) of border with Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia bombed 13 areas of Ukraine with drones and missiles overnight.

The attacks killed at least three people and forced widespread power outages, as Ukrainians prepare for Christmas amid freezing winter temperatures.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has now dragged on for almost four years.

Moscow has continued to pressure Ukraine in recent days, despite US President Donald Trump claiming on Monday that peace talks to end the conflict are “going well”.

Stay tuned as DW brings you the latest developments as well as analysis and background from Russia’s war in Ukraine.