UKRAINE: Air raid sirens wailed across Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, on Sunday night as the most recent wave of Russian drone and missile attacks continued into the second day of 2023.
The drone attacks, which started just before midnight, targeted vital infrastructure in Kyiv and surrounding regions, said Oleksiy Kuleba, Kyiv’s regional governor.
On the first night of the year, Ukrainian soldiers shot down 45 Russian-launched Shahed drones built in Iran, according to a statement made by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday. He praised Ukrainians for their respect for the armed forces and one another.
“Drones, missiles, everything else will not help them. because we stand united. They are united only by fear,” he said of the Russians.
As Russian missiles and drones were shot out of the sky in the early hours of the New Year, which Russia ushered in by hitting civilian sites all throughout Ukraine, Ukrainians cheered from their balconies.
“Glory to Ukraine! Glory to heroes!” a resident screamed as air raid sirens blared.
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, signalled no easing in his attack on Ukraine in a scathing New Year’s address, however.
Just after 1:00 a.m. (23:00 GMT) on Monday, the military in Kyiv issued a warning about the most recent strikes.
It stated on the social media platform Telegram that “Air attack on Kyiv… Air alert is on in the capital.”
People were advised to stay in shelters by Serhiy Popko, the commander of the city’s military administration.
Ukraine’s military administration reported that by 3 a.m. (0100 GMT), its air defence systems had destroyed 20 airborne objects over Kyiv.
Oleksiy Kuleba, the governor of Kyiv, said: “It is loud in the region and the capital: night drone attacks.”
The explosion was reported by Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kiev, who also said that the emergency services were responding.
Klitschko said that one man in Kyiv was injured by debris from a fallen Russian drone.
“An injured 19-year-old man was hospitalised in the Desnyanskyi district of the capital,” he wrote on the Telegram.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Armed Forces claim that on New Year’s Eve, 400 Russian soldiers were reportedly killed at Makiivka, in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region.
It follows a flurry of assaults on New Year’s Eve in Kyiv that claimed at least one life.
Russia has been attacking Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure for several months, damaging power plants and leaving millions in the dark during the bitterly cold winter.
Also Read: Ukraine Rocked by Explosions Amid Russia’s New Year Attacks
