Putin carries on brutal bombing of Ukraine as worshippers celebrate Christmas

Fires burn after a Christmas drone attack on Odessa (Image: SES Ukraine )

Vladimir Putin sent a Christmas message of deadly drones to Ukraine as worshippers gathered in the war-torn nation to celebrate the birth of Christ. Any hope of the Kremlin war machine halting hostilities for December 25 appeared to have been dashed after reports of drone strikes in the early hours.

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine said one man was killed and two people were injured in an attack on warehouses in the western port city of Odessa, and residents of a block of flats had a miraculous escape after the building was targeted in the northern Chernihiv region, with no fatalities reported. Energy infrastructure was also hit.

The deadly bombardment continued as Ukrainians gathered to celebrate an evening candlelit Christmas Service in the stunning Saint Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in the capital Kyiv. After the Russian invasion, Ukraine officially moved Christmas celebrations from the traditional Russian Orthodox date of January 6 to the Gregorian Western date of December 25.

During his Christmas Eve address to Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said many Ukrainians may share a single Christmas wish that Putin would "perish".

He added: "But when we turn to God, of course, we ask for something greater. We ask for peace for Ukraine. We fight for it. And we pray for it. And we deserve it."

Firefighters tackle a blaze in the Chernihiv region of Ukraine (Image: SES Ukraine )

On Tuesday, President Zelensky said he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end Russia’s war, if Moscow also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarised zone monitored by international forces.

The proposal offered another potential compromise on control of the Donbas region, which has been a major sticking point in peace negotiations.

Zelensky said the US proposed the creation of a “free economic zone," which he said should be demilitarised. But it was unclear what that idea would mean for governance or development of the region.

A similar arrangement could be possible for the area around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently under Russian control, Zelenskyy said. He said any peace plan would need to be put to a referendum.

One man died in the attacks on Odessa by Russian drones. (Image: SES Ukraine )

Zelensky said a 20-point plan from Ukraine and the US had been hammered out in Florida in recent days, though he said many details are still being discussed.

Russia has given no indication that it will agree to any kind of withdrawal from the land it has seized. In fact, Moscow has insisted that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory it still holds in the Donbas — an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk — the two areas that make up the Donbas.

Asked about the plan, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Moscow would decide its position based on information received by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who met with US envoys in Florida over the weekend. Peskov declined to share further details.