(Image by NEIVANMADE)

As Christmas Eve gives way to Christmas Day in Ukraine – 7:38 PM EST/2:38 AM local time in Ukraine – over 1/2 of Ukraine is under air raid alert and Russian Air Force strike fighters and bombers are up over western Russia. The Ukrainians are facing drone storms, rockets, and missiles as a Christmas present from the genocidal Putin.

This is after the Russians bombarded Kryvyi Rih earlier today:

On Christmas Eve, russia launched a missile that destroyed a four-story building in Kryvyi Rih.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) December 24, 2024 at 9:28 AM

Fireworks burst beyond my window, their festive clamor scraping old wounds. In Ukraine, carols are drowned by explosions. This photo from Kryvyi Rih shows a Christmas tree under ruins. The world wraps itself in tinsel and cheer. I sit in its shadow, waiting for a miracle.

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— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) December 24, 2024 at 1:39 PM

Christmas eve when your neighbor is genocidal russia

(Kryvyi Rih today, after the russian missile attack on the city, that injured at least 11 people, including a 16 years old girl)

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) December 24, 2024 at 10:55 AM

The Kyiv Independent has the details:

Editor’s Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

Russia attacked a residential building in the city of Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, injuring at least 15 people, Governor Serhii Lysak said.

One person was killed, according to the governor.

Preliminary reports say that a Russian ballistic missile hit a four-story apartment building in the city, according to Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul.

“Unfortunately, we’re preparing for difficult news,” Vilkul said in a statement.

Two people were rescued from under the rubble. Ten of the injured victims were hospitalized after the attack. Four of them — a 78-year-old man and three women aged 72, 65, and 42 — are in serious condition, Lysak reported.

Ukrainian officials condemned the missile attack, which targeted a residential neighborhood during the holidays.

“While the rest of the world celebrates Christmas, Ukrainians continue to suffer from endless Russian attacks. Terrorists do not understand human morality,” said Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.

Andrii Yermak, the head of President’s Office, addressed the Kryvyi Rih attack on his official Telegram channel.

“Russians are murderers. Nothing sacred, no humanity,” he said.

Emergency services are still working at the scene of the attack, officials said.

Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.

Christmas Greetings from the President of Ukraine

24 December 2024 – 17:00

This is the sound of light. This is the sound of a miracle. This is the sound of life. This is the sound of Christmas. Our “Shchedryk.” Our Leontovych. Our history, which carries especially profound symbolism in times of war.

The great Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych spent several years living and working in the city now known as Pokrovsk. There, he taught music to children, formed a choir, and it was in that very place that he composed the second edition of “Shchedryk,” which is heard in every corner of the world these days. This is how a Ukrainian gifted the world the musical spirit of Christmas.

And may everyone in the world remember Ukraine when they hear it. The way we are fighting today for the main symbol of this holiday – for hope and for the triumph of life. On our land, in every city and town, including Pokrovsk.

The divine music composed there and the evil that russia brought there sharply illustrate the difference between us and them.

We strive to create, while for some, the meaning of life is to sow death. We seek harmony, seek justice – we want peace.

All we need is to live peacefully on our own land, to see the sun, our sky, and in it – a Christmas star, not Iranian Shaheds and russian missiles. But for some, life feels “boring and lacks excitement.” These words are proof of how far they are from God, from Christianity, and from true faith. And this is proof of why their bondage and darkness will lose. We know this. The world knows this.

And God knows this. Evil will be defeated. Ukrainians believe this and pray for it – pray for all this evil and filth to vanish from our land forever. And Ukrainians undoubtedly deserve it.

Dear nation!

Tonight is a very special evening. Christmas Eve.

And this is our third Christmas during wartime. Our great Ukrainian family cannot fully celebrate it the way we would like to, the way it should be celebrated.

Not all of us are home, unfortunately. Sadly, not everyone has a home. And tragically, not everyone is with us. Yet, despite all the hardships brought by the enemy, they have failed to take or destroy what matters most – our hearts, the light within us, our faith in goodness and mercy, and the humanity that lives in each of us.

We have not lost our values, and that is why today we honor all those who gave their lives defending us. We pray today for everyone on the frontlines – to return alive. For all those in captivity – to come back home. For all those russia has driven into occupation. For all those it has forced to leave. For all those who face hardships but have not lost Ukraine within themselves – and because of that, Ukraine will never lose them.

That is why, no matter where we are today, we are definitely together. For the second time, we celebrate Christmas on the same date as one big family, one country. For the second time in modern history, Christmas unites all Ukrainians. Today we are side by side. And we will not get lost. Whether in person or in our minds, we will greet each other, call our parents, kiss our children, hug our loved ones, and remember those close to us. In person, from afar, or in our hearts – Ukrainians are together today. And as long as we do this, evil has no chance. This unity and warmth toward one another are the true spirit of Christmas – the unique atmosphere that we will preserve within ourselves and share with those around us. With everyone we love. With everyone who is so dear to us.

And today, that means every Ukrainian.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

May the light of faith shine in our souls, may our hearts be filled with hope, and may every home be blessed with love and abundance. May the Lord protect you, your families, and our Ukraine.

With His help, may all the evil that entered our home disappear, replaced by goodness and justice. May there be peace and prosperity.

And may every child be healthy, delight in their gifts, smile, and – despite everything – feel the joy of this holiday. And may the most precious thing – the sparkle of happiness in children’s eyes – be seen.

This is what we are fighting for.

This is what we are praying for.

This is what we deserve.

Merry Christmas, dear Ukrainians!

Christ is born!

Glorify Him!

Shchedryk by Mykola Leontovych performed by the Ukrainian School “Mriya” at the Singing Christmas Tree in Zurich Switzerland 🎄

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— Sofia (@sofiaukraini.bsky.social) December 24, 2024 at 2:22 AM

The cost:

⚡️Deported Ukrainian teen allegedly commits suicide in Russia.

Ukrainian-born Oleksandr Yakushchenko, 18, who was deported from the Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast in 2022, was found dead after allegedly committing suicide on Jan. 10, 2024 near his foster home in Russia.

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— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) December 24, 2024 at 1:12 PM

The Kyiv Independent has the details:

Ukrainian-born Oleksandr Yakushchenko, 18, who was deported from the Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast in 2022, was found dead after allegedly committing suicide on Jan. 10, 2024 near his foster home in Russia.

His suicide almost a year ago was first reported by IStories investigative project on Dec. 24. There were no reports about investigations into Yakushchenko’s Russian foster family, where at least one other Ukrainian boy currently lives.

According to IStories, before the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, Yakushchenko lived in a family-type orphanage in the village of Tokarivka near Kherson, run by Lidia Sharvarly.

After the occupation of the village early into the invasion, Sharvarly became a collaborator with the Russian authorities. When the Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated Kherson in November 2022, she fled to Russia, illegally taking several children with her.

Yakushchenko was among at least 20,000 Ukrainian children that have been abducted from Russian-occupied territories and sent to other Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine or to Russia itself, according to a Ukrainian national database “Children of War.”

In Russia, Sharvarly refused custody of children, and Yakushchenko was placed in a Russian foster family of Natalia and Alexander Lukashenko in Krasnodar Krai.

Eight months later, he committed suicide.

More at the link.

Georgia:

#GeorgianProtests

Day 27

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) December 24, 2024 at 2:12 PM

Day 27. December 24. New elections and the release of the unlawfully detained. #GeorgiaProtests #NewElectionsforGeorgia
📷 Lado Nafetvaridze

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) December 24, 2024 at 3:13 PM

On December 28, marking one month since the start of the pro-European protests, a one-hour protest chain will take place in Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi, Akhmeta, Gori, and Khashuri.

Citizens will join the “Chain of Unity for Georgia” starting at 3 PM.

#GeorgiaProtests

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) December 24, 2024 at 7:40 AM

On December 25, 19:00, ethnic minorities of Georgia will be marching from the First Republic Square in a “Unity March.” #NewElectionsforGeorgia #GeorgiaProtests

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) December 23, 2024 at 3:59 PM

Today the regime met with business representatives and it seems like they promised to release the prisoners before the New Year’s.
I’m of course very happy if true, but this will be their tactical, temporary concession before the final assault. I thin people do see it though.

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) December 23, 2024 at 4:45 PM

Kyiv:

Merry Christmas, dear world.

Come to Kyiv for the winter holidays at some point; you will not regret it.

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— Illia Ponomarenko (@ioponomarenko.bsky.social) December 24, 2024 at 5:41 PM

Lviv:

Grief and hope march the same street in Lviv, half an hour apart — silent processions for the fallen, carols for the living. A nation that mourns deeply, yet dares to sing.
📷Lviv’s Mayor Andrii Sadovyi

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— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) December 24, 2024 at 10:27 AM

Kharkiv:

Kolyadky (Christmas songs) on the streets of frontline Kharkiv.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) December 24, 2024 at 2:18 PM

Both banks of the Dnipro River:

⚡️Russia trying to seize bridgehead on west bank of Dnipro, but no talk of storming Kherson, military says.

From the new foothold, Russian forces could fire on Kherson and the Ukrainian military units located in the coastal zone on the western bank of the Dnipro.

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— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) December 24, 2024 at 8:12 AM

From The Kyiv Independent:

Russian troops are likely seeking to seize a bridgehead on the western bank of the Dnipro River or one of its islands in order to transfer firepower there, Vladyslav Voloshyn, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian military’s Southern Command, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on Dec. 24.

Voloshyn’s statement comes amid an anticipated large-scale Russian advance in Kherson Oblast. In early December, Russian troops were carrying out assaults in the southern region to gain a foothold on islands in the Dnipro River delta.

From the new foothold, Russian forces could fire on Kherson and the Ukrainian military units located in the coastal zone on the western bank of the Dnipro, Voloshyn said.

Russian forces conduct five to seven assaults by small infantry groups in this area of the front line every day to “detect weaknesses in Ukrainian defense,” according to the official.

“The enemy has launched similar assaults on Kozatsky Island, and for several days in a row, they (Russian forces) have been trying to land on Velykyi Potemkin Island, and before that, they tried to land on the southern island of Zabych,” Voloshyn said, adding that Russia also carried out similar assaults near the Antonivskyi bridges two weeks ago.

These efforts are not an attempt to make “a big assault or force the Dnipro River,” the spokesman said.

“Such (small) groups do not do this. Much larger forces do this, but it is very difficult to hide them with modern intelligence means,” he added.

Even if the information about a possible Russian offensive on Kherson turns out to be true, “it will be fatal for the Russian forces,” Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, head of the internal and information policy department of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, told the media.

Meanwhile, if the military warns of such a danger, the local authorities are ready to announce additional evacuations from the city and its neighborhoods, the official said.

More at the link.

Donestk Oblast:

Russian Su-25 collided with Russian Zala reconnaissance drone in flight:

“While performing a combat mission in the territory of Donetsk region, the Su-25 collided with a Russian reconnaissance UAV “ZALA”. As a result, the nose section was damaged.”

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) December 24, 2024 at 8:24 AM

Vremivka:

🔥The Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed a column of Russian armored vehicles during an attempted assault on the Vremivka direction.
t.me/c/1377735387…

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) December 24, 2024 at 8:12 AM

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays 🎁 from the Hachiko team in Ukraine! Some photos from Christmas Eve food deliveries to displaced pets on the frontline:

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— Nate Mook (@natemook.bsky.social) December 24, 2024 at 2:12 PM

A very merry Christmas to all of you who observe and celebrate the holiday.

Open thread!