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Ukraine-Russia war live: Putin’s forces launch fresh wave of drone attacks on Kharkiv and Kyiv

2023-12-31 00:00:00.0 独立报-世界新闻原网页

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Kyiv suffers largest ever drone attack by Russia leaving five wounded

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Russia has bombarded Ukraine’s second largest city with missiles and drones during the early hours of New Year’s Eve, just hours after accusing Kyiv of carrying out a deadly strike in one of its border cities.

Moscow said 22 people, including two children, have been killed in “indiscriminate” Ukrainian strikes on the Russian provincial capital of Belgorod on Saturday.

Images of Belgorod on social media showed cars on fire and plumes of black smoke rising among damaged buildings as air raid sirens sounded.

Local media said missiles hit a skating rink in the heart of the city, a shopping centre, residential buildings and a car.

Russian officials accused Kyiv of carrying out the attack the day after an 18-hour aerial Russian barrage across Ukraine killed at least 39 civilians.

More than 144 people were injured and an unknown number were buried under rubble after Moscow launched its biggest wave of airstrikes since the war began.

Within hours, the UK announced it was sending Kyiv hundreds of defence missiles, ministers condemning Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “barbarity”.

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Show latest update 18 minutes ago Drone strikes hit Kharkiv and Kyiv

Russia launched a fresh drone assault on Ukraine on Saturday night, after promising that strikes on the Russian border city of Belgorod earlier in the day “would not go unpunished”.

The Ukrainian Air Force said on Sunday that it had shot down 21 of 49 drones launched by Russian forces overnight.

Twenty-eight people were injured in an attack on the eastern city of Kharkiv, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Sunday.

A central hotel, apartment buildings, nursery school, shops and administrative buildings were damaged, according to the regional prosecutor’s office.

In the Kyiv region that surrounds the capital, a Russian drone attack caused a fire to break out at a critical infrastructure facility, local officials said. They did not identify the facility further.

Firefighters put out a fire after a Russian missile attack in Kharkiv

(AP)

Holly Evans 31 December 2023 09:14

47 minutes ago Missile threat alert issued in Russia's Belgorod

The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, called residents of the city of Belgorod to hide in shelters on Sunday as a missile threat alert was issued in the city, according to a post on his Telegram account.

More than 20 people were killed in Belgorod on Saturday in what Moscow said was an “indiscriminate” Ukrainian air attack on the city.

Holly Evans 31 December 2023 08:45

1 hour ago Russia will be held responsible for every strike on Ukraine, says Zelensky

Russia will be held responsible for every strike on Ukraine’s cities, Volodymyr Zelensky said after Moscow launched its biggest aerial attack of the war so far killing at least 31 Ukrainians.

“For every Shahed drone, for every Russian missile, there will be a fair responsibility of the terrorist state, both political and very practical,” Mr Zelensky said on Saturday.

He also said that Ukraine is preparing to produce more weapons in 2024.

Read more here

Russia will be held responsible for every strike on Ukraine, says Zelensky ‘On the eve of the New Year, the Russians want to intimidate our city,’ Kharkiv mayor says

Holly Evans 31 December 2023 08:01

2 hours ago Russia pounds Kharkiv with missiles and drones after attack on Belgorod

Russia pounded the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv with missiles and drones in the hours leading into New Year’s Eve, Ukrainian officials said, hours after Moscow accused Kyiv of carrying out a deadly air assault just across the border on nearby Belgorod.

In the first waves of Russia’s attacks, at least six missiles hit Kharkiv, Ukraine’s National Police said on Sunday, injuring at least 22 people and hitting 12 apartment buildings, 13 residential houses and a kindergarten.

(EPA)

Earlier, Ukrainian officials said that among those injured in Kharkiv were two boys aged 14 and 16 and a security adviser for a team of German journalists.

Closer to midnight, as part of a wider bombardment of Ukraine that also targeted Kyiv, several waves of Russian drones hit residential buildings in Kharkiv’s centre, spouting fires, the mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, said.

“On the eve of the New Year, the Russians want to intimidate our city, but we are not scared - we are unbreakable and invincible!” the mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said.

Holly Evans 31 December 2023 07:20

3 hours ago Russia responds to Polish accusations

During Russia’s huge attack on Ukraine earlier this week, Poland, a NATO member, claimed an unknown object travelled 24 miles into the country’s airspace.

The head of the Polish armed forces, Gen. Wies？aw Kuku？a, said “everything indicates” it was a Russian missile.

Since the claim, Russia’s charge d’affaires in Warsaw, Andrei Ordash, told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti on Saturday that Poland’s claims were “unsubstantiated.”

“We will not give any explanations until we are presented with concrete evidence, because these accusations are unsubstantiated,” Ordash told RIA Novosti.

Some 500 Polish Territorial Defense troops were combing an area between the city of Zamosc and the border with Ukraine for any traces of the object.

Alex Ross 31 December 2023 06:30

4 hours ago Time to celebrate Christmas

For the first time, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine observed Christmas on 25 December instead of 7 January.

The nation has traditionally used the Julian calendar, also used by Russia, where Christmas falls next month.

Many Ukrainians have embraced this year’s change with enthusiasm, viewing it as a positive step that will further strengthen their cultural separation from Moscow.

Ukrainians celebrate Christmas on 25 December for first time in shift from Russia For the first time, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine observed Christmas on 25 December instead of 7 January. The nation has traditionally used the Julian calendar, also used by Russia, where Christmas falls next month. Many Ukrainians have embraced this year’s change with enthusiasm, viewing it as a positive step that will further strengthen their cultural separation from Moscow. “The war has helped bring this about, but most Ukrainians have long dreamt about this change,” Father Heorhii told Al Jazeera. “It is a desire to live with the whole world.”

Alex Ross 31 December 2023 05:30

5 hours ago New US funding could be final package of military aid

Worrying news for Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky as US officials announced on Wednesday that funding, worth up to $250 million, could be the final package unless Congress approves new legislation that is stalled.

The weapons, worth up to $250 million, include an array of air munitions and other missiles, artillery, anti-armor systems, ammunition, demolition and medical equipment and parts.

In a statement, Lt. Col. Garron Garn, a Pentagon spokesman said there is no more funding to replace the weapons taken from department stocks. And the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which provides long-term funding for future weapons contracts, is also out of money.

As a result, Garn said Wednesday, “Without the supplemental funding, there will be a shortfall in replenishing U.S. military stocks, affecting American military readiness.”

President Joe Biden is urging Congress to pass a $110 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other national security needs.

Alex Ross 31 December 2023 04:30

6 hours ago British soldiers to go on standby

Thousands of UK soldiers will go on standby from next year as a first response unit against threats to members of Nato.

The alliance’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), created after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and which took on renewed importance following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, acts as Nato’s first line of defence against hostile forces.

Germany had been leading the reaction force but will hand over to the UK on 1 January 2024. The role is rotated every year among Nato members. The UK’s 7th Light Mechanised Brigade, known as the Desert Rats, will be at the core of this 6,000-person responsive unit.

Thousands of UK soldiers to go on standby as Nato’s first line of defence in 2024 One of the UK’s most prestigious brigades will operate as the core response unit for Nato next year

Alex Ross 31 December 2023 03:30

7 hours ago What to expect from Ukraine war in 2024

It’s a worrying time for Ukraine and president Volodymyr Zelensky with funding stalling on both the European and US fronts. But what will this current “lack” of funding mean to the war in 2024.

Well, British writer Keir Giles, who is an expert on the Russian military, says it is likely to mean Ukraine will remain on the defensive with the construction of fortifications along Russian’s main lines of advance.