NATO was forced to scramble fighter jets as Vladimir Putin launched a savage pre-Christmas missile and drone strike on Ukraine. Polish and allied war planes operated near the Ukrainian border amid the hellish onslaught.

“Fighter jets have been scrambled, and ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems placed on a state of readiness,” said Poland’s operational command. This was “preventive” and “aimed at securing and protecting the airspace, particularly in areas adjacent to the threatened regions”.

“The Operational Command of the Armed Forces is monitoring the situation on an ongoing basis, and subordinate forces and assets remain ready for an immediate response”, said the statement.

There was also an alert in the NATO state of Romania amid an onslaught by the Russians.

“During the night of 22–23 December, drone attacks were carried out by Russian forces against Ukrainian port infrastructure in the vicinity of the Romanian border,” said a Bucharest statement.

People in two Romanian counties received night-time warning alerts about the threat of Putin’s drones.

Putin’s ştrikes caused deaths and injuries to civilians, including pensioners and children.

Strikes hit ordinary residential buildings.

The initial toll was given as two dead – a woman, 76, and a girl, four – with 10 injured, including three children.

The monstrous Russian strikes were aimed at maximising civilian anguish.

Russia used frigates in the Black Sea to launch Kalibr cruise missile strikes.

Explosions thundered in multiple regions, including Kharkiv, Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk, Cherkasy, and Khmelnytskyi.

Attacks on energy facilities have led to power cuts in Kyiv and the surrounding region, as well as multiple other locations.

The latest Russian strikes – using strategic bomber aircraft – came amid peace talks prompted by Donald Trump.

But ahead of the attacks, Volodymyr Zelensky claimed Putin was addicted to killing and would not give up the war.

“After so many years – first of hybrid warfare and now of full-scale war – it is hard to believe that Putin is capable of living without killings and invasions,” he said.

However, a reduction in the price of Russian oil, strong global sanctions, and the continuation of all other forms of pressure are precisely what will persuade even such a stubborn person.

“Putin wages war as long as he has the money to buy the loyalty of his inner circle and the Russian population, while at the same time paying for killings on the front line.”

Russia had “no scruples” and would wage war over Christmas, said the Ukrainian president.

Putin continued his siege of the port city of Odesa.

The Russian onslaught came the day after high-ranking Russian Lt-Gen Fanil Sarvarov, 56, was blown up in a suspected Ukrainian assassination operation in Moscow.

Ukraine’s energy ministry said: “Emergency power outages have been implemented in a number of regions of Ukraine.

“As soon as the security situation permits, rescuers and energy workers will begin to eliminate the consequences of the attack in order to restore electricity supply in the regions as quickly as possible.”

In a strike on Russia, Ukraine exploded military-linked petrochemical plant Stavrolen in Budyonnovsk , Stavropol region, owned by Russian giant Lukoil.