KYIV, Dec 29 (Reuters) – Russia launched several missiles into Ukraine early on Thursday, targeting Kyiv and other major cities including Lviv in the west and Odesa in the west, people are allowed to fly to shelters and beat the power in one of Moscow’s major airports. initiative.
“Unfortunate statements. These are the only words that come to mind when we see that Russia has launched another missile attack on peaceful Ukrainian cities before the New Year,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs said. Ukrainian city Dmytro Kuleba tweeted.
Ukraine’s military said it shot down 54 of the 69 missiles launched by Russia. The weather chimes sounded in Ukraine – for five hours in Kyiv.
“The downing of 54 missiles saved many lives and protected key parts of our economic infrastructure,” Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in a tweet. “Every day of military success brings our victory closer.”
Officials said earlier that more than 120 machines were fired during the attack.
Reuters photos show a group of emergency workers digging through the wreckage of apartments in Kyiv that were hit by gunfire and smoke billowing in the air.
In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, firefighters work to extinguish a blaze at a power station. In the southern part of the city of Zaporizhzhia, buildings were destroyed, and the missile left a large crater.
“I woke up to everything shaking and broken. I got up and shouted, ‘Vitia, Vitia (my husband), where are you?’ I ran barefoot on the glass. He came out and the glass fell on him,” said 60-year-old Halyna.
Ukraine’s military said Russia launched air and sea missiles, anti-aircraft missiles and the S-300 ADMS at electronic infrastructure installations in the east, center, west and south. The attacks followed a nighttime attack by “kamikaze” drones.
Russian wind waves in recent months have targeted power infrastructure leaving millions without power and heating in many frigid temperatures.
‘ANCHOR AND PROPERTY’
“The enemy set up a large area for this attack, preparing it for two weeks. The Ukrainian air defense forces showed an amazing level of skill and strength,” said Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on the Telegram messaging application.
“At the same time, damage was caused, especially to electrical installations. In some places, emergency shutdowns can be requested to avoid accidents in the networks. Our electrical machines are still working to fix everything,” he added.
[1/7] Rescuers work at the site of private buildings heavily damaged by Russian airstrikes, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 29, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Assistant Kyrylo Tymoshenko through Telegram/Shared via REUTERS
Kyiv authorities said two private buildings in the Darnytskyi district were damaged by fragments of fallen missiles and a business and a playground were also damaged. The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, said that 16 machines were shot and three people were injured in the attacks.
The mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi, said on Telegram that 90% of his city near the Polish border is without electricity. The missiles damaged a part of the electrical infrastructure.
In the Odesa region, fragments of one missile hit a residential building, although no casualties were reported, said its governor Maksym Marchenko.
Moscow has repeatedly denied targeting civilians, but Ukraine says its daily shelling is destroying cities, towns, and the country’s sovereignty, medicine and other structure.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been asking Western countries for more help with air defense for months.
Belarus summoned Ukraine’s ambassador after it said it shot down a Ukrainian air defense missile over its territory, the Belarus Foreign Ministry said. Television footage released by the Belarus-run BelTA news agency showed what appeared to be arrowheads lying in the field.
In Russia, a regional governor said air defenses shot down a drone near the Engels air force base, hundreds of kilometers from the front lines in Ukraine and home to long-range strategic bombers. . Russia says Ukraine has tried to attack the base twice this month.
THERE ARE NO SCIENCES
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what President Vladimir Putin described as a “special military operation” to eliminate its neighbor. Kyiv and its Western allies have denounced Russia’s actions as quasi-imperialist land grabs.
Sanctions have been imposed on Russia for the war, thousands of people have died, millions have been driven from their homes, cities have been left in ruins, the world economy has been shaken, and the price of energy and food costs.
There is no word yet on ending the war.
Zelenskiy is trying to push the 10-point peace plan that requires Russia to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and withdraw all its troops.
But Moscow rejected it on Wednesday, adding that Kyiv must accept Russia’s annexation of four regions – Luhansk and Donetsk in the east, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south. It also says Ukraine must accept the loss of Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Zelenskiy’s idea of expelling Russia from eastern Ukraine and Crimea with the help of the West and making Moscow pay for the damages is wrong. “mistake”, the RIA news agency said.
Additional reporting by the Reuters television team in Zaporizhzhia and other Reuters bureaus Writing by Alexandra Hudson and Nick Macfie; Edited by Gareth Jones
Our Standards: Thomson Reuters’ Guardian Principles.
