Children in traditional costume Lviv in western Ukraine sing Christmas carols (Getty)

EA on Times Radio: UK’s Hard-Right Politics, Ukraine, Israel-Gaza, and A Bit of Panto

Sunday’s Coverage: Russia Kills Elderly Civilians in Kherson Region in South

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 2025 GMT:

In his Christmas Day message, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed the downing of five Russian fighter jets, three on Friday and two on Sunday (see 1010 GMT):

This Christmas sets the right mood for the entire year ahead….

The stronger our air defense, the fewer Russian devils will be in our skies and on our land.

He praised Ukraine’s “capabilities in negotiations with partners, capabilities in bolstering our sky shield, capabilities in defending our homeland from Russian terrorists”.

UPDATE 1502 GMT:

Opposition activist Alexei Navalny, missing for more than two weeks in Russia’s prison system, has been “found” in a penal colony in the Arctic Yamal-Nenets region in the north of the country.

Navalny’s team suspected that the dissident, sentenced to more than 30 years in prison, had been transferred by authorities but were given no information.

His spokesperson Kira Yarmysh confirmed on Monday:

Yarmush said Navalny’s lawyer managed to see him today.

Navalny’s chief strategist, Leonid Volkov, noted the remoteness of the Yamal-Nenets region, with its long and severe winters.

It is almost impossible to get to this colony; it is almost impossible to even send letters there. This is the highest possible level of isolation from the world.

UPDATE 1117 GMT:

A St. Petersburg court has condemned Victoria Petrova, 29, to compulsory medical measures in a general psychiatric hospital over her “fake news” about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Petrova was detained in early May 2022 over posts with video recordings from Ukraine. One included a quote from a Ukrainian pediatrician about Vladimir Putin having schizophrenia.

In October 2023 she was transferred from pre-trial detention to a psychiatric hospital. A forensic psychiatric examination declared that at the time of the publication of her posts, Petrova “could not understand and control her actions”.

In her final statement, Petrova said she had not changed her opinion about the invasion.

UPDATE 1027 GMT:

Russia’s latest attacks have killed another civilian and wounded two in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine.

Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said 288 shells were fired in 71 attacks from mortars, artillery, Grad rocket systems, tanks, aircraft, and UAVs.

On Saturday-Sunday, the Russians killed four civilians, including 87-year-old man and his 81-year-old wife, and wounded nine.

UPDATE 1010 GMT:

The Ukraine Air Force says it downed 28 of 31 Iran-made attack drones launched overnight by Russia.

The UAVs were fired from occupied Crimea. Port infrastructure was damaged in the Odesa region in southern Ukraine, but there were no casualties.

Two Russian missiles were intercepted. Two fighter jets were shot down — an Su-34 over the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine and an Su-30SM over the Black Sea over the Black Sea — after three were downed last week over the south of the country.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Most of Ukraine is celebrating Christmas as a free country despite Russia’s 22-month invasion.

For the first time, the religious holiday is on December 25, rather than the January 7 date set by the Russian Orthodox Church. Services are being held today in sanctuaries across the country, including the Monastery of the Caves Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed legislation in July moving the holiday. On Christmas Eve, he addressed the nation in a video filmed in front of the floodlit St Sophia Cathedral in central Kyiv.

Christmas Eve is the time of the longest nights of the year. But tomorrow the day starts getting longer, the light starts prevailing. The light is getting stronger. And step by step, day by day, the darkness retreats.

And in the end, darkness will lose. Evil will be defeated. Today, this is our common goal, our common dream, and this is what our common prayer is for today. For our freedom. For our victory. For our Ukraine. For the day when we can all come together at home in a peaceful year of peaceful Christmas. And say to each other: “Christ is born!”