Category: War in Ukraine

All the Times Russia Attacked Ukraine on Holidays

Putin says Sumy was an accident, but his well-documented history of attacking Ukrainian civilians on holidays like Easter and Christmas says otherwise.

Apr 18, 2025 16:09

6 min read

Authors: Audrey MacAlpine
Author

While Russian leader Vladimir Putin claims the Palm Sunday strike on Sumy, which left 35 civilians dead, including two children, was accidental, his documented history shows otherwise. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine during major holidays like Christmas, New Year’s, and Easter, raining terror on Ukraine’s civilian population. As a result, Ukrainians approach the holidays with a mixture of celebration and fear, knowing that Russian attacks could be imminent.

These strikes are not accidents but rather coordinated assaults that have led to an increase in casualties year after year. UNITED24 Media reviews instances when Russian forces have attacked Ukraine during religious and cultural holidays.

Year 2022

April 8, 2022	Good Friday
Location	Kramatorsk and Donetsk regions
Weapon Type	A missile strike on a crowded railway station.
Casualties	Russian forces killed 63 civilians, including nine children, and injured over 150.
Details	A Russian missile struck Kramatorsk railway station as civilians evacuated ahead of anticipated Easter attacks. It marked one of the deadliest single attacks on civilians in 2022.

April 15–23, 2022	Passover
Location	Kharkiv (city)
Weapon Type	Mortar and artillery shelling.
Casualties	Russian forces killed 18 civilians and injured dozens more.
Details	A Russian missile struck Kramatorsk railway station as civilians evacuated ahead of anticipated Easter attacks. It marked one of the deadliest single attacks on civilians in 2022.

Over 60 people were killed and more than 150 injured in a Russian attack on a railway station in Kramatorsk on Good Friday in 2022. (Source: Andrea Carrubba/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) | © https://www.haascnc.com/ — Over 60 people were killed and more than 150 injured in a Russian attack on a railway station in Kramatorsk on Good Friday in 2022. (Source: Andrea Carrubba/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) — https://www.haascnc.com/

December 25, 2022	Christmas Day
Location	Kherson region
Weapon Type	Artillery shelling.
Casualties	Multiple civilians were killed.
Details	Shelling occurred on Christmas Day in frontline Kherson. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned, “With the holiday season fast approaching, the Russian terrorists could again step up their activities. They have no regard for Christian values or any values for that matter.”

December 29, 2022	Christmas Holidays
Location	Nationwide
Weapon Type	Sixty-nine Russian cruise missiles.
Casualties	Russian forces killed at least three civilians.
Details	In one of its largest attacks, Russia launched a barrage of cruise missiles across the country in the days between Christmas and New Year, killing civilians and knocking out critical infrastructure.

December 30, 2022	Christmas Holidays
Location	Kyiv (city)
Weapon Type	Sixteen Shahed drones.
Casualties	No fatalities, but significant damage occurred.
Details	Russia continued its holiday season assault on the capital, launching 16 drones, 12 of which were shot down by air defenses. The remaining drones caused damage to Kyiv.

December 31, 2022	New Year’s Eve
Location	Kyiv (city)
Weapon Type	More than 20 Russian cruise missiles.
Casualties	Russian forces killed at least one civilian and wounded over 20 more.
Details	On the final day of 2022, Russia launched more than 20 cruise missiles into Ukraine. Air defenses shot down 12 of the missiles, but others made it through, killing at least one person and injuring over 20 in the country’s capital.

A mother and daughter by a Christmas tree in Kyiv the night Russia launches nearly 20 cruise missiles into the city. (Source: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Year 2023

April 5, 2023	Palm Sunday
Location	Dnipro (city)
Weapon type	Shahed drone strike.
Casualties	No casualties.
Details	A Russian drone hit the Tiferet Matzot Bakery in Dnipro. Fire from the attack engulfed the entire bakery and destroyed thousands of kilograms of matzah being prepared for Passover.

April 9, 2023	Palm Sunday
Location	Kherson, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions
Weapon Type	Missile strikes and 58 incidents of shelling nationwide.
Casualties	At least seven civilians killed.
Details	Russian forces intensified attacks on frontline communities on Palm Sunday, coinciding with Orthodox Easter. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy condemned the strikes as acts of terror.

April 14, 2023	Good Friday
Location	Sloviansk, Donetsk region
Weapon Type	Seven S-300 missiles.
Casualties	Russian forces killed 15 civilians and injured 24, including a two-year-old.
Details	A Russian missile struck residential buildings in Sloviansk on Good Friday, causing significant civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure. A two-year-old toddler, pulled from the rubble, died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.

A woman cries inside her apartment, looking at the damage from a Russian strike in Kyiv on New Years Eve. (Source: Getty Images) | © https://www.haascnc.com/ — A woman cries inside her apartment, looking at the damage from a Russian strike in Kyiv on New Years Eve. (Source: Getty Images) — https://www.haascnc.com/

December 24, 2023	Christmas Eve
Location	Kherson region
Weapon Type	Artillery shelling.
Casualties	Multiple civilian casualties.
Details	Shelling on Christmas Eve led to several civilian deaths. Pope Francis expressed his condolences and offered prayers for “our brothers and sisters suffering due to war.”

December 29, 2023	Christmas Holidays
Location	Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Lviv regions
Weapon Type	Over 158 missiles and drones.
Casualties	Russian forces killed over 45 civilians.
Details	In the days between Christmas and New Year’s, Russia launched one of its largest-ever aerial assaults since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Mass casualties were reported across the country.

December 31, 2023	New Year’s Eve
Location	Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Lviv regions
Weapon Type	Missiles and Shahed drones.
Casualties	A 15-year-old boy was killed, and several others were wounded.
Details	On New Year’s Eve, following an end-of-the-year address from Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who promised “never to retreat,” Russia launched one of its largest-ever attacks. This attack was part of a broader series of missile barrages during the holidays.

As a 15-year-old boy is killed by Russian strikes in Ukraine, two Russian women watch President Putin’s New Year’s address vowing “never to retreat.” (Source: Getty Images)

Year 2024

May 5, 2024	Orthodox Easter Sunday
Location	Kharkiv and Sumy regions
Weapon Type	Ballistic missiles and aerial bombs.
Casualties	One person killed and over 30 injured.
Details	On Orthodox Easter Sunday, Russia launched two separate attacks on Kharkiv’s city center, causing significant casualties and damage.

December 20, 2024	Christmas Holidays
Location	Kyiv (city)
Weapon Type	Russian ballistic missile.
Casualties	Russian forces killed one civilian and injured dozens more.
Details	Just days before Christmas, Russian forces launched a missile that caused fires and significant damage to a Catholic church, international embassies, and residential apartments.

Shattered Christmas bulbs hang amid the wreckage of a Russian missile strike in Kyiv that damaged a Catholic church days before Christmas. (Source: Yevhenii Vasyliev/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

December 25, 2024	Christmas Day
Location	Kharkiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Dnipro regions
Weapon Type	Seventy Russian missiles and 100 drones (50 intercepted).
Casualties	No casualties.
Details	Russian forces launched a large-scale attack targeting civilian infrastructure, leaving over 500,000 people without heating, water, or electricity amid freezing temperatures.

People place flowers and children’s toys at the site of the Palm Sunday missile strike in Sumy that killed 35 civilians. (Source: Yehor Kryvoruchko/Kordon.Media/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Year 2025

April 13, 2025	Palm Sunday
Location	Sumy (city)
Weapon Type	Iskander-M ballistic missiles.
Casualties	Russian forces killed at least 35 civilians, including two children, and injured 117.
Details	Two Russian Iskander-M missiles struck central Sumy during Palm Sunday services, hitting a crowded trolleybus and nearby buildings. Ukrainian officials condemned the attack as a war crime and called for increased international sanctions.

Russia’s repeated strikes on religious and cultural holidays suggest a deliberate pattern, not isolated incidents. From Easter to Christmas, these attacks have turned days of peace into days of mourning. As Ukrainians prepare to celebrate, many now do so with caution, aware that holidays have often coincided with escalations in violence. The war, like the calendar, does not stop.