Russia launches a Christmas Day missile attack on Ukraine as the war enters its third year. NBC News’ Erin McLaughlin reports on the shifting battleground there and in Washington, D.C.

Russia launched aerial attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector “on a massive scale” overnight into Wednesday, local authorities said, with explosions reported across the country amid intensified bombardments that have left Ukraine in a precarious position while the war grinds into a third winter.

Russia attacked Ukraine's energy system and some cities in an "inhuman" Christmas Day assault, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he asked the U.S. Defense Department to continue its surge of weapons deliveries to Ukraine after condemning Russia's Christmas Day attack against some of Ukraine's cities and its energy system.

Pope Francis has called for negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to end the war triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In his traditional Christmas Day address, the Pope said "boldness [was] needed to open the door" to dialogue "in order to achieve a just and lasting peace" between the two sides.

Back then, in the first weeks of the war, Russia and Ukraine conducted several rounds of talks in person and online aimed at ending the conflict; although a framework for peace called the Istanbul Communiqué was drawn up,

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded fighting for Moscow in Russia's western Kursk region.

Pope Francis has called for a “negotiation” to end the war in Ukraine in a Christmas Day message where he appealed for weapons to be laid down in global conflicts and reconciliation between enemies. The 88-year-old pontiff’s remarks came hours after a “massive” aerial attack by Russia and follow his consistent push for a negotiated peace settlement to end the war in Ukraine.

Zelensky warns of greater military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, including sending more troops and military equipment

Russia's natural-gas transit deal with Ukraine is set to expire soon, which would cut billions in revenue.

Western equipment has slotted in to Ukraine's embattled, Soviet-era military throughout the war, including long-range missiles and advanced fighter jets.