DW about the massive Russian attack on Ukraine and its consequences (video)

On December 29, 2023, Russian troops fired Shahed-type missiles and drones at Ukraine. There are dead and injured in Ukrainian cities. DW – about the attack and its consequences.

Kyiv, Odessa, Lvov, Dnepr, Kharkov, Zaporozhye and other cities in Ukraine were hit by missiles and kamikaze drones. Dozens of dead and injured are known, residential buildings, medical facilities and civilian infrastructure were damaged. The Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed 114 of 158 targets. Yuriy Ignat, speaker of the Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, says:

“So many red (enemy targets) were not visible on our monitors for a very long time; everything was actually for the enemy’s air targets in all areas, in all directions. At first, the invaders carried out reconnaissance in force as “martyrs,” then they launched missiles of various types. Traditionally, they circled , bypassing those places where they could be shot down and thus approaching the target.”

According to him, the occupiers launched virtually all the missiles in their arsenal, except for the Caliber missiles. The Ukrainian Armed Forces clarify: the Russians attacked Ukraine with 36 “martyrs” from the northern and southeastern directions, followed by movement in a western direction. Subsequently, at about three in the morning, Russian strategic aviation – 18 Tu-95MS bombers – was scrambled into the air. They reached the launch line three hours later, having launched at least 90 Kh-101/Kh-555/Kh-55 air-launched cruise missiles.

From the Kursk region at about five in the morning, the Russian army used long-range Tu-22M3 bombers, firing eight Kh-22/Kh-32 cruise missiles in the direction of the northern and central regions of Ukraine. Another 14 missiles flew along a ballistic trajectory – S-300/S-400/Iskander-M – from the occupied Crimea, Kursk and Belgorod regions of the Russian Federation. They all hit Kharkov. At half past six in the morning, five MiG-31K fighters took off, launching five Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles from the Astrakhan region. Of the Su-35 tactical aircraft, four Kh-31P and one Kh-59 anti-radar missiles were used.

According to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Russian Federation used 122 missiles of various types and 36 drones against Ukraine that night. Ukrainian air defense managed to shoot down 114 targets – 27 suicide bombers and 87 X-101/X-555/X-55 cruise missiles. It is noteworthy that exactly a year ago the Russian occupiers also attacked Ukraine with missiles and suicide bombers. Then 69 air targets were launched, of which the air defense shot down 65.

Attack on Kyiv

Throughout Ukraine, the air raid warning sounded from midnight until the morning with short breaks. In the capital it lasted almost five hours. According to Kyiv authorities, more than three dozen air targets were hit over the city. But as a result of the attack, there is still destruction and casualties.

Thus, the explosion damaged the lobby of the Lukyanovskaya metro station. Within a few hours the station resumed operation. In the Svyatoshinsky district of Kyiv, an uninhabited high-rise building and three cars caught fire due to a Russian attack, and in the Darnitsky district, a residential high-rise building and one private house were damaged.

Russian shelling caused a fire of about three thousand square meters in a warehouse in the Podolsk district of the city. In the Shevchenko district, a Russian missile hit the roof of an unfinished business center. Mayor of Kyiv Vitaly Klichkr says:

“The upper floors (10 to 8) were partially destroyed. There were isolated fires on the roof.”

In the same area, cars in a garage, non-residential buildings and warehouses caught fire. As a result of the missile attack in Kyiv, at least eight people were killed and 30 were injured (as of 10:40 on Saturday, December 30, 13 dead were found in Kiev, 32 people were injured, 17 of them are in hospitals in the capital’s medical institutions). In the Kyiv region, a man was injured, and 11 private houses and 11 cars were damaged.

Attack on the Dnieper

The Russians also targeted the Dnepropetrovsk region, over the skies of which they managed to shoot down 18 missiles. Destruction and casualties could not be avoided here either. The head of the regional military administration, Sergei Lysak, says: “In Dnepr there is a “flight” on the shopping center. A fire broke out. Also in the city, one private house was completely destroyed, eight administrative buildings, at least two dozen high-rise buildings, and cars were damaged.” In addition, the maternity hospital where a fire broke out was damaged. As the mayor of Dnepr Boris Filatov clarified, “the rocket went tangentially,” rescuers removed four women in labor from the building. According to him, at least two and a half thousand windows were broken in the city.

According to local authorities, the number of victims of a missile strike by Russian troops on the Dnieper has increased to six, and more than 30 people were injured. In addition, two people were injured and 13 private houses were damaged in Novomoskovsk, not far from the Dnieper, Lysak emphasized.

Attacks on Odessa and Kharkov

In Odessa, the Russians entered the residential buildings of civilians. According to the head of the Odessa Regional State Administration Oleg Kiper, the lyceum and 21 residential buildings were damaged, including two private ones, the rest were high-rise buildings: “According to preliminary estimates, about 70 apartments were damaged to varying degrees.” The attack killed at least four people and injured 22 others. Among them are two children (6 and 8 years old) and a pregnant woman.

In Kharkov, three people were killed during the shelling, another 13 were injured, said the head of the Kharkov regional military administration Oleg Sinegubov:

“These were employees of one of the civilian enterprises. Damage to the city’s civilian infrastructure was also recorded: a medical facility, warehouses, civilian enterprises. In particular, about 70 windows and roofs were damaged in the Regional Oncology Center. The Russian Federation released a release in Kharkov during the morning, from 5 to 8 , more than 20 missiles: S-300, Kh-22 and Iskander.”

Lviv and Zaporozhye

The Russians attacked the Lviv region with 14 attack drones and 15 missiles, said the head of the Lviv regional military administration, Maxim Kozitsky. A total of 30 people were injured, including two children. 18 residential buildings, two lyceums and a kindergarten were destroyed. They managed to shoot down eight drones and 10 missiles, he says:

“As a result of a rocket hitting a high-rise building on Khotkevich Street in Lviv, a 44-year-old man was killed.”

It was not possible to avoid casualties in Zaporozhye. According to the latest data, in Zaporozhye the number of deaths from a missile attack carried out by Russia on the morning of December 29 has increased to 9 people. December 30 was declared a Day of Mourning in the city. Odessa and Dnieper are also in mourning. According to the head of the Zaporozhye OVA, Yuriy Malashko, Russian troops launched about 10 missile attacks on the city, and managed to shoot down one missile. “They hit Zaporozhye with missiles of the Kh-22, Kh-32, Kh-101, and also Zircon types,” he noted.

The territories of several city enterprises were hit, a private house was destroyed, and one of the missiles exploded in an open area. The blast wave and debris damaged high-rise buildings in one of the city’s districts. About 20 garages, a gas station and a hotel building were damaged, said City Council Secretary Anatoly Kurtev.

Attacks on Cherkassy and Sumy regions

Konotop in the Sumy region came under attack from Russian troops. According to the Sumy OVA, three people were wounded as a result of rocket attacks, an apartment building and a car service station were damaged.

As a result of the missile attack, private houses were damaged in the town of Smela, Cherkasy region, the State Emergency Service reported. At least nine people were injured and 51 private homes were damaged.

As of 18:00, there were at least 30 dead and 120 wounded in Ukraine. This number is constantly increasing as search and rescue operations continue in a number of cities today.

As a result of the massive strike, power lines were damaged in four regions – Kyiv, Dnepropetrovsk, Odessa, Kharkov, the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine reported. Because of this, power outages affected about five thousand subscribers. Despite the existing problems, the Ministry of Energy emphasized that the situation in the energy system is stable and controllable, and no outages are planned.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky promised to answer Russia for the air strikes. “We will definitely respond to terrorists for their attacks. And we will fight to ensure the security of our country, every city, our entire people. Russian terror must lose – and that’s exactly what will happen,” he wrote on Telegram. Zelensky expressed condolences to the families and friends of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured. Yesterday, Ukraine and Western countries convened a meeting of the UN Security Council – regarding massive Russian missile strike on the morning of December 29:

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