Ukraine-Russia warfare newest: Putin’s forces launch lethal Kyiv ballistic missile and drone assault
Russia has launched dozens of missiles and drones against Ukraine as at least one person was killed in the capital of Kyiv in the attack.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia had fired 60 drones on Thursday night, though 20 were downed well before they reached their target, and five ballistic missiles at towns and cities across the country.
At least one person was killed after missiles hit Kyiv at around 7am local time this morning, while a high-rise building was badly damaged. The capital’s St Nicholas Church was also damaged.
Five people were also injured in a separate Russian missile strike that damaged a two-storey residence in Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown, Kryvyi Rih.
Meanwhile, Russian president Vladimir Putin has said he should have invaded Ukraine earlier as he used an end-of-year press conference to double down on his decision to start the war.
Despite the toll his war has taken on Russia’s finances and the lives of its young men, Putin claimed that sending troops into Ukraine in 2022 has boosted his country’s military and economic power.
Drone attacks damage residential buildings 600 miles from frontline
Ukraine has brought the war into the heart of Russia with drone attacks that damaged residential buildings in the city of Kazan in the Tatarstan region, more than 600 miles from the front line.
The press service of Tatarstan’s governor, Rustam Minnikhanov, said that eight drones attacked the city.
Six hit residential buildings, one hit an industrial facility and one was shot down over a river, the statement said.
A video posted on local Telegram news channel Astra, verified by The Associated Press, shows a drone flying into the upper floors of a high-rise building.
Local authorities said there were no casualties. Flights were halted at Kazan’s airport and all mass gatherings cancelled on Saturday and Sunday.
The attacks, which Ukraine did not acknowledge in keeping with its security policy, comes after a Ukrainian attack on Friday on a town in Russia’s Kursk border region using US-supplied missiles killed six people, including a child.
Putin praises Boris Johnson’s hair as he peddles baseless Ukraine army theory
Putin praises Boris Johnson’s hair as he peddles baseless Ukraine army theory
Vladimir Putin praised Boris Johnson’s hair as he referred to a quote there is no online record of the former prime minister ever having said. During a four-hour phone-in on Thursday (19 December), the Russian president said: “Prime minister Johnson with the great hair… He said they need to fight until the last Ukrainian, that’s what they’re doing now. They’re running out of Ukrainians who would like to fight, I don’t think there are any left.” Mr Putin appeared to reference a Kremlin-peddled theory that Mr Johnson hindered peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow, something the former PM denied, telling The Times it was “total nonsense and Russian propaganda.”
Russian troops capture village in Donetsk
Russian troops have captured the village of Kostiantynopolske in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, the defence ministry said on Saturday.
The reports have not been independently verified.
US condemns ‘unacceptable’ Russian missile attack on Kyiv
The US State Department on Friday condemned a Russian missile attack on Kyiv earlier in the day that killed a civilian and damaged a building hosting several diplomatic missions.
“Any attack against diplomats or diplomatic facilities anywhere is unacceptable,” department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a post on X.
Six killed in Ukrainian missile attack on Russia’s Kursk region, acting governor says
Six people, including one child, were killed on Friday in a Ukrainian missile attack on the town of Rylsk in Russia’s Kursk region, the acting governor, Alexander Khinshtein, said.
Ten wounded people, including a 13-year-old, were taken to hospital with minor injuries, Khinshtein wrote on Telegram.
“What happened today is a huge tragedy for all of us,” he said. “We grieve together with the families of the victims. No one will be left without support.”
Those responsible would receive “well-deserved retribution”, he said.
Ukrainian authorities have not commented on the incident.
Two Russian airports temporarily halt operations
Two Russian airports have temporarily halted operations following a Ukrainian drone attack, Russia’s aviation watchdog said.
Kazan airport has temporarily halted flight arrivals and departures, Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said via the Telegram messaging app on Saturday, following a Ukrainian drone attack on the city.
Russian state news agencies reported the drone attack on a residential complex in Kazan, a city some 500 miles east of Moscow. The TASS agency said eight drone strikes had been recorded including six on residential structures.
There were no casualties reported, agencies said, citing local authorities.
The Baza Telegram channel, which is close to Russia’s security services, published unverified video footage showing an aerial object crashing into a high-rise building, producing a large fireball.
Rosaviatsia said it was also introducing temporary restrictions at the airport in Izhevsk, a smaller city northeast of Kazan.
Ukrainian missile attack disrupts gas network in Russia
Ukraine’s missile attack in Kursk has disrupted heating and gas networks, region’s governor Alexander Khinshtein wrote on Telegram.
The attack that killed six people, including a child, also disrupted the work under way to restore supplies to more than 80 residences.
Mr Khinshtein accused Kyiv of deliberating targeting civilians in the strike.
Russia and Ukraine exchange missile attacks, officials say, killing at least 1 person in Kyiv
Russia vows ‘quick’ retribution after Ukraine attack
Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, said Moscow would be quick to respond to the Ukrainian attack that killed six, including a child.
“As you can well understand, our response to this targeted crime against peaceful Russian citizens will not be long in coming,” he told the UN security session.
Source: independent.co.uk