Missile hits reported from across Ukraine on Christmas Day even as Putin says he is open to talks

Ukrainian and Russian media outlets reported hearing blasts at Russia's Engels air base early Monday, hundreds of kilometres from the frontlines in Ukraine. However, the reports haven't been confirmed yet. The RBC-Ukraine news agency reported that two explosions took place. Russian news outlet Baza cited local residents as saying that air raid sirens followed by an explosion were heard.

An air base near Saratov, about 730 km (450 miles) southeast of Moscow, was hit on December 5 in what Russia said were Ukrainian drone attacks.

However, Ukraine has never publicly claimed responsibility for attacks inside Russia but has said, however, that such incidents are "karma" for Russia's invasion.

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Meanwhile, Moscow bombarded several Ukrainian towns on Christmas Day even as President Vladimir Putin said that they were open to negotiations. Sunday witnessed over 10 rocket attacks on the Kupiansk district in the Kharkiv region and over 25 towns along the Kupiansk-Lyman frontline being shelled. In Zaporizhzhia, nearly 20 towns were hit, Ukraine's top military command said.

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"We are ready to negotiate with everyone involved about acceptable solutions, but that is up to them - we are not the ones refusing to negotiate, they are," Putin told Rossiya 1 state television in an interview broadcast on Sunday.

An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hit back at Putin saying that he needs to acknowledge that it was Russia that did not want talks.

"Russia single-handedly attacked Ukraine and is killing citizens," the adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, tweeted. "Russia doesn't want negotiations, but tries to avoid responsibility."

Zelensky once again slammed Putin for hitting power stations, leaving millions without electricity and heat amidst freezing winter conditions. He said that Russia will aim to make the rest of 2022 "dark and difficult".

"Russia has lost everything it could this year. ... I know darkness will not prevent us from leading the occupiers to new defeats. But we have to be ready for any scenario," he said in an evening video address on Christmas Day.

Christmas is traditionally not celebrated on December 25 in Ukraine. Both Kyiv and Russia mark the day on January 7. However, this year some Orthodox Ukrainians decided to celebrate the holiday on December 25. Ukrainian officials, including Zelensky and Ukraine's prime minister, issued Christmas wishes on Sunday.

(With inputs from agencies)

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