A new round of explosions rocked Kyiv less than an hour into 2023, after Russia attacked Ukraine with missiles targeting the capital and other cities ahead of New Year’s celebrations. New.
The first shots of the new year began around 30 minutes after midnight and hit two districts, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram, adding that there were no reports of sacrifice
Earlier in the evening, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine will fight to win.
“We will fight, we will continue to fight. For the main word: ‘victory’,” he said in a statement, as his country saw the old year hours after the new wave of kill
“I want to tell you all: Ukrainians, you are amazing! Look at what we have done and what we are doing!” Zelensky said in an emotional speech.
“We will fight as one group – the whole country, all our regions. I thank you all. I want to thank the invincible regions of Ukraine,” he continued.
As Russia’s Eastern regions rumbled in 2023, Russian leader Vladimir Putin delivered his midnight speech – usually held against the backdrop of the Kremlin – standing among the servicemen and women who fought in Ukraine.
He told them that “historical justice” was on their side.
At the same time, explosions rocked the Ukrainian capital where AFP reporters heard at least 11 heavy blasts in the evening.
Klitschko said on social media that at least one person was killed in the attacks on Saturday, while city officials said 22 others were injured.
An explosion damaged a corner of the four-star Alfavito Hotel in Kyiv, sending debris onto the street, an AFP reporter saw.
Nearby streets are covered in glass from the local stained glass windows, including the Kyiv National Museum of Art.
Filmmaker Yaroslav Mutenko, 23, who lives in a nearby apartment, said he was in the bathroom preparing to attend a New Year’s party when he heard shoot
He said there were similar explosions in the area during the previous attack in October, but there was no sound in Saturday’s explosion.
As he watched rescue workers clear the road in front of the hotel, he told AFP he was still thinking of going to a party at a friend’s house.
“Our enemies the Russians can destroy our peace but they cannot destroy our spirit,” he said.
“Why should I go celebrate with friends? Because this year I know it’s important to be close to people.”
The attacks come as Putin’s invasion of Ukraine enters his 11th month, with Russian weapons systematically targeting power infrastructure, leaving millions in the cold and dark in the middle of winter. .
Weapons were also fired in the southern city of Mykolaiv where a local official said seven people were injured.
The Mayor of Mykolaiv Oleksandr Sienkievych said earlier that the fire broke out in one of the districts of the city, and many residential buildings were damaged.
As Ukraine continues to rely on military support and aid from Europe and the US to repel Russian attacks, French president Emmanuel Macron on Saturday promised to help Ukrainians “don’t fail…until you win.”
Putin celebrates the New Year
- In western Ukraine, four people were injured in the Khmelnytskyi region, Governor Serhiy Gamaliy said, adding that part of the city of Khmelnytskyi was left without power.
Ukraine’s chief of general staff Valerii Zaluzhnyi said Russia launched 20 cruise missiles on Saturday, and 12 were shot down.
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Putin delivered his New Year’s message from the headquarters of Russia’s southern military region, where he was on a pre-Saturday visit and delivered a signal. to the soldiers.
Among the recipients of the awards is Russia’s leader in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovikin, Russian news agencies said.
Footage released by Russian television shows Putin raising a glass of champagne with soldiers in military uniform, some with insignia worn on their chests.
In his traditional New Year’s address, which was broadcast by the channels before midnight, Putin told Russians that “justice, historical justice is on our side.”
Putin said that this year was marked by “very important, very important events” that took place “in the region that lays the foundation for our future, for our independence.”
“Today we are fighting for this, protecting our people from our own former territories, in the new entities of the Russian Federation,” he added, referring to the Ukrainian territories that four said Russia had been included.
Earlier today, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a message to his troops that Russia’s victory in Ukraine was “impossible.”
The Defense Ministry also announced the capture of the village of Dorozhnyanka in southern Zaporizhzhia – a rare asset to claim as Russia loses ground in Ukraine.
The minister added that 82 Russian soldiers had been released as part of a prisoner exchange with Ukraine, while Kyiv said 140 people had been returned.
