Russia-Ukraine War: Fierce fighting in Bakhmut, defiant Ukrainians celebrate Christmas

Ukraine’s military said its forces have inflicted “heavy losses” on pro-Moscow troops in continued fierce fighting around the strategic eastern town of Bakhmut, with an official saying that dozens of Russian soldiers had been killed over the past 24 hours.

The comments come on December 25 after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed in his Christmas Eve address that “we will bring back freedom” to the country following a fresh round of Russian attacks that killed at least 16 people and wounded more than 60 others in the Kherson region.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview that Moscow is ready to negotiate with all parties involved in the war that began with his February 24 invasion, but he claimed that Ukraine and its Western allies have refused to engage in talks.

Putin in the past has suggested he is open to talks, but U.S. and other Western officials have said the Russian leader has shown no actual inclination to hold negotiations, even as his troops have suffered massive losses amid Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the south and east of the country.

Zelenskiy has said he is seeking a speedy resolution to the war but has demanded that Russia pull its troops out of all Ukrainian territory, including areas seized by the Kremlin and its allies in 2014 and during the recent invasion.

December 25 marked Christmas for many Christians throughout the world. Most Ukrainians are Orthodox Christians and for centuries have marked Christmas on January 7, as in Russia.

But following Russia’s invasion of the country, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine allowed its congregations to celebrate Christmas on December 25 along with most of the Western world.

Serhiy Chervatko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Army Group East, said on December 25 that Russian forces are continuing their long-standing efforts to capture the town of Bakhmut but said at least 50 Russian soldiers have been killed and another 80 wounded over the past day. He did not comment on the number of Ukrainian casualties.

Russia has been besieging Bakhmut for months at extraordinary costs to its own armed forces, and the city reportedly has been nearly destroyed by incessant Russian shelling.

A breakthrough by Russian forces could allow troops to surround Ukrainian soldiers fighting in the town, which has been turned into a fortress.

Battlefield reports on either side cannot immediately be confirmed.

The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that “Russian forces’ rate of advance in the Bakhmut area has likely slowed in recent days, although it is too early to assess whether the Russian offensive to capture Bakhmut has culminated.”

Zelenskiy, in his Christmas Eve address, urged Ukrainians to persevere through a tough winter -- despite the death and destruction, power cuts, and the constant threat of Russian strikes.

Zelenskiy said Ukrainians have endured “attacks, threats, nuclear blackmail, terror, and missile strikes” since Russia invaded the country 10 months ago.

Earlier, Serhiy Kovalenko, the chief operating officer of YASNO, which provides energy to Kyiv, told Ukraine's Channel 24 that the energy situation in the capital was gradually improving following Russian shelling of crucial infrastructure.

He said power engineers in Kyiv have developed procedures to repair facilities in three districts that suffered the most over the past week.

He vowed that Kyiv residents will have "electricity today. Maybe not all the time, but enough in this crazy time. Merry Christmas."

In the southern city of Kherson, which was recaptured by Ukrainian forces last month, officials said the death toll from the massive Russian rocket attack of December 24 had risen to 16 people, with more than 60 others injured.

Zelenskiy condemned the attack, calling it an act of terror that targeted civilians on the eve of Christmas.

Zelenskiy in his video address shared the photos from the scene of the attack that depicted bloodied bodies on pavements, vehicles on fire, and large plumes of black smoke rising from near an apartment block. (KB/RFE)