Russia unleashed its biggest air attack of the war on Ukraine, killing 39 civilians, wounding more than 160 others and hitting cities and infrastructure across the country, officials said.
NATO member Poland said a Russian missile appeared to have flown into its airspace for some 40 km before returning to Ukraine under three minutes later.
But the Russian charge d’affaires, summoned to the Polish Foreign Ministry, said Warsaw had provided no evidence of a missile entering its airspace.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry said the assault showed there should be “no talk of a truce” with the Kremlin at a time when uncertainty hangs over the future of Western support for Kyiv.
“Today, millions of Ukrainians awoke to the loud sound of explosions. I wish those sounds of explosions in Ukraine could be heard all around the world,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, urging allies to keep sending long-term aid.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a massive drone attack on Russian military facilities across Russia on the night of Dec. 30, Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne reported, citing sources in the special services.
Over 70 drones were used in the attack, with explosions occurring in Moscow, Belgorod, Tula, and Tver. A group of drones also targeted Bryansk’s Kremniy El, a major microelectronics manufacturer for Russian military equipment, including long-range missiles and Pantsyr air defense systems.
At least 10 people were killed and 45 injured after Ukraine struck the Russian city of Belgorod, about 30 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, authorities said Saturday. “Nine adults and one child were killed in Belgorod due to shelling by the Ukrainian army. 45 people were injured, including 4 children,” Russia’s emergencies ministry said.
At a hastily-convened UN Security Council session, most council members, including the United States, France and Britain, condemned the attacks on Ukraine.
Russia’s UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said Moscow had attacked only military infrastructure and that Ukraine’s air defense systems were responsible for civilian casualties.
In the capital Kyiv at least nine people were killed and 30 wounded after a warehouse, residential buildings and another uninhabited property were hit, officials said.
Kyiv resident Mariia told Reuters she had been awoken by a “horrible sound” and taken shelter in her bathroom.
“It was so frightening. A missile was flying and everything was buzzing, whirring. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to run down to the shelter,” she said. “As I went inside the bathroom, the mirror flew off (the wall).”
Army chief General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said infrastructure and industrial and military facilities had been targeted. “Russia attacked with everything it has in its arsenal… Approximately 110 missiles were fired, most of which were shot down,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram messenger. Ukraine also carried out a series of deadly air strikes on targets in south-west Russia over the past 24 hours, according to Russian officials. Russia’s emergency ministry says 10 people including a child were killed and more than 40 injured in the city of Belgorod.—Reuters
