Ukraine enters the Christmas period once again facing active conflict, following renewed Russian airstrikes on Kyiv in the early hours of this morning.

Speaking on The Pat Kenny Show, Ukraine correspondent for RFI and France 24 Emmanuelle Chaze said the latest strikes were “more of the same,” but no less frightening for those living through them. 

She described “hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles” launched across the country, killing at least three people and knocking out power in large parts of central and western Ukraine. 

Three western regions, she said, were left “almost completely out of power,” with millions of people facing life without electricity or heating.

With temperatures dropping, Chaze said the timing of the attacks is significant. 

The Ukrainian flag on a table with Christmas decorations. Image: Sergii Lysenkov / Alamy Stock Photo

“We are now really in the heart of Ukrainian winter, people have to live through those circumstances once again,” she explained, noting that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned Russia would intensify strikes in the run-up to Christmas. 

A proposed Christmas truce has been rejected by the Kremlin.

Attacks continue regularly and Chaze said there is little belief among Ukrainians that Russia intends to de-escalate during the Christmas period.

Christmas celebrations in Ukraine

This Christmas will also be symbolically different.

Ukraine now officially celebrates Christmas on December 25th, following a legal change in 2023 aimed at distancing the country from the Moscow-linked Orthodox Church. 

While some families still observe January 7th out of tradition, Chaze said there has been “a clear shift” since 2022, reflecting Ukraine’s broader efforts to detach themselves from Russia’s religious traditions.