DLNews The World at War:

In the chill of a winter morning just days before Christmas, Kyiv awoke to horror as Russian rockets tore through the heart of the city. The barrage, ordered by the Kremlin, left destruction in its wake. Cars erupted into flames, homes were reduced to rubble, and once-bustling streets now lay beneath a veil of smoke and debris. Amid the chaos, the people of Kyiv braced for survival, facing both physical and emotional scars.

Some injured civilians leave their houses after a Russian ballistic missile hit the city center of Kyiv.

The death toll from this latest attack stood at one, with nine others injured. The reverberations of the ballistic missile strikes were so intense that even the walls of bomb shelters trembled under their force. Eyewitnesses recounted the unthinkable: flames consuming vehicles and windows shattering like brittle ice under the pressure of the blasts. Among the damage was a heating line, a lifeline during Kyiv’s freezing winters, cutting off warmth to hundreds of residential buildings, medical facilities, schools, and kindergartens. With temperatures hovering just above freezing, the stakes for survival grew even graver.

Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko (53), looks at the damage on site.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko, visibly shaken, confirmed the extent of the devastation. "This attack was not just on buildings but on our way of life, on our people," he said. Outside the city, the assault continued with the use of Russian drones targeting the surrounding region. Warehouses ignited near Boryspol Airport, including a massive facility spanning 15,000 square meters, adding to the city’s inferno.

This latest strike came in chilling proximity to a propaganda-laden press conference held by Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin dictator, in his annual address, made callous remarks about the war, calling it “interesting” that people were dying in his ongoing invasion. His words added fuel to the fire of Ukrainian anger and global condemnation. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy minced no words in his response, calling Putin a "dumbass" on X (formerly Twitter), and later doubling down during a summit in Brussels. “Putin is crazy and loves to kill,” Zelenskyy stated. “He lives in a kind of aquarium,” detached from the horrors he inflicts.

As Europe’s leaders stood with Ukraine, Zelenskyy also addressed an unlikely source of controversy: a push by former U.S. President Donald Trump for a ceasefire. “We would welcome any help to end this war,” Zelenskyy acknowledged. Yet, he rejected the notion of a ceasefire on Putin’s terms, warning that the Russian dictator would exploit any pause to regroup and renew his campaign of destruction within months.

The human toll in Kyiv underscores the relentless suffering of Ukraine’s civilian population. Homes, schools, hospitals, and now vital heating infrastructure are collateral in a conflict that spares no one. As the holiday season approaches, the people of Kyiv cling to resilience amidst despair, their Christmas marked not by peace, but by survival.

Destroyed windows, burning cars - after the Russian missile attack on Kyiv, the fire department extinguishes debris.

This war is not merely a clash of nations but a brutal assault on humanity itself. Each rocket, each life lost, and each building reduced to rubble is a sobering reminder of the stakes, and the unyielding determination of a nation fighting for its right to exist.