The main Ukrainian cities woke up this December 29 with explosions. The danger came from the sky. Russia had launched a large-scale air attack against Lviv, in the west, Odessa (south), the capital Kyiv, Dnipro (center) and Kharkiv (northeast), among others. The Ukrainian air defense was operating at full capacity throughout the night and morning of this Friday. So far it is known that at least 16 people died and 97 were injured.
According to Ukrainian authorities, it is the most intense Russian attack of the current conflict due to the number and simultaneity of launches. One of the buildings hit by the attack was the maternity hospital in the city of Dnipro, Kyiv said.
As usual, the Russian Defense Ministry emphasized that the attacks target only Ukrainian military and energy facilities and infrastructure related to them. This Friday he assured that the Russian Armed Forces have launched in one week, from December 23 to 29, more than 50 attacks with missiles and drones against Ukrainian military facilities, including targets of the military-industrial complex, military airfields and weapons warehouses.
For its attack, Moscow used "almost all types of weapons in its arsenal," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. These include drones and hypersonic, ballistic and cruise missiles, including the X-22, which are very difficult to intercept. Russia fired 110 missiles (158 including drones), although "most of them were shot down," the president reported.
Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuri Ihnat confirmed the unprecedented magnitude of the attack: "We have never seen so many targets on our monitors at once," he said. The only missile that Russia did not fire were the Kalibrs, Ihnat detailed. Air Force Chief Mikola Oleschuk wrote on Telegram that it was the "largest large-scale attack from the air," suggesting it was the largest aerial bombardment carried out by Russia since it began its military intervention in Ukraine in February. 2022.
Earlier, the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klichkó, reported the explosions. In a message on the Telegram channel, he urged citizens to stay in shelters. "The anti-aircraft defense is actively working," he announced early in the day. Around five in the morning, a general air alert was activated for the entire country. Residents of four Ukrainian regions in the north and south suffered power outages following the massive attack, the country's Energy Ministry announced.
In the Podoslski neighborhood of Kyiv, Klichkó reported, a fire broke out in a warehouse, with an area of approximately 3,000 square meters, causing injuries. In Svyatoshinskiy, an uninhabited multi-story house caught fire, but one person was also injured. In the capital, seven people had to be hospitalized, he explained.
In Kharkiv, its mayor, Ihor Terejov, said that it suffered at least ten attacks in two waves and that, in addition, the supply of electricity and transportation was partially lost. The head of the province, Oleh Siniehubov, reported one death. Eight injuries were also recorded.
In Dnipro, there were four dead and more than a dozen injured and, according to the Ukrainian authorities, the maternity hospital was one of the buildings hit.
The attack on a residential building in Odessa left two dead and at least 15 injured, including two children.
In Lviv, a fire broke out at a critical infrastructure site, said the city's mayor, Andriy Sadovyi. One person died in the city in one of the attacks carried out by a dozen Iranian Shaheds suicide drones. There were also three injured and a fire broke out in a secondary school, reported Maxim Kozitski, governor of Lviv province.
A residential building was also attacked in the town of Konotop, Sumi, where three people were injured.
Adding drones and missiles, Russia used 158 in total, according to Ukrainian authorities. It first fired a wave of its Iranian suicide drones, followed by missiles in its attack, which targeted critical infrastructure, industries and military installations. Ukrainian air defense was able to shoot down 27 drones and 87 cruise missiles, said the head of the Ukrainian Army, General Valeri Zaluzhni.
"We are doing everything possible to reinforce our air shield. But the world must see that we need more help and means to stop this terror," lamented Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff on Telegram. On Wednesday, Washington sent the last tranche of military aid granted to Kyiv until further notice from the US Congress.
The attacks come after Russia confirmed on Tuesday that one of its ships, the large landing ship Novocherkassk, had been damaged in an attack by Kyiv on the annexed Crimean peninsula.
Moscow, for its part, assured that in one week, "between December 23 and 29", it has carried out more than 50 attacks against Ukraine. "The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation carried out 50 group attacks and one mass attack with high-precision weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles against facilities of the military-industrial complex, infrastructure of military airfields, arsenals, as well as storage sites: artillery ammunition, unmanned ships, weapons and fuel for military equipment," he reported in a statement collected by the Ría Nóvosti agency.
According to Russian Defense officials, "all objects designated as targets have been affected."
Previously, according to Reuters, General Valeri Zaluzhni said that the Russian attack hit critical infrastructure and industrial and military facilities.
