Explosions rocked cities and towns all over Ukraine on this morning as Russia launched what one of its biggest strikes to date on the country’s energy grid. Via the New York Times:

The attack combined a swarm of drones and a volley of cruise missiles, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Facebook. Iranian-made exploding drones, which Russia began acquiring last summer, were launched in a first wave, apparently to bog down air defenses before the cruise missile strikes, it said, adding that its defense forces had shot down 54 of 69 missiles and knocked out drones.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said in a statement on Twitter that Russia had been “saving one of the most massive missile attacks since the beginning of the full-scale invasion for the last days of the year.”

[...] President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said last week that another barrage was expected during the holidays. “With the approaching holiday season, Russian terrorists may become active again,” he said in a nightly address to Ukrainians. “They despise Christian values and any values in general.”