Death toll after Russian attacks on Ukraine rises to 39

Death toll after Russian attacks on Ukraine rises to 39

Almost 120 towns and villages across the country were "affected", Selensky explained about the Russian attacks on Friday. "The work to eliminate the consequences of yesterday's Russian attack is still ongoing."

According to the city administration, 16 people died in the attacks in the capital Kiev alone. Bodies were still being recovered from the rubble on Saturday. Mayor Vitali Klitschko declared January 1 a day of mourning.

According to Ukrainian reports, schools, a maternity clinic, shopping centers and residential buildings were hit on Friday in one of the heaviest waves of Russian attacks on Ukraine since the start of the war. In its daily situation report, the Russian army stated that it had carried out "50 group attacks and one massive attack" between December 23 and 29. "All targets" had been hit.

According to Ukrainian authorities, the attacks with rockets, drones and cruise missiles were directed against at least six regions of the country, including Kharkiv in the north-east, Lviv in the west, Dnipro in the south-east and Odessa in the south. Important infrastructure as well as military and civilian industrial facilities were also hit, according to the General Staff. According to the report, Russia used 158 drones and missiles. 88 missiles and 27 drones were destroyed.

This was a "record number" of missiles, said air force spokesman Yuri Ignat. Apart from the first days of the war in February 2022, these were the "most massive attacks" on Ukraine to date. Russia attempted to overwhelm the air defenses over Ukraine's major cities by launching a wave of Shahed combat drones followed by missiles.

The Russian authorities reported several Ukrainian attacks on Russian border regions on Saturday. According to information from Moscow, 14 people were killed and 108 others injured in a Ukrainian attack on the Russian city of Belgorod on Saturday.

"Twelve adults and two children were killed" in the Ukrainian bombing in Belgorod, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations explained in the online service Telegram. Among the 108 injured were 15 children. The authorities published images of burning cars and buildings with shattered windows.

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin had been "informed about the attack by the Ukrainian armed forces on residential areas in Belgorod", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Tass news agency. The Russian city is located around 30 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

A child was also killed by Ukrainian shelling in the border region of Bryansk, as the local governor Alexander Bogomas reported online.

The Russian Ministry of Defense had previously stated that air defenses had fired a total of 13 missiles over the region. In a separate statement, the ministry said that 32 drones had been intercepted and destroyed in the border regions of Bryansk and Kursk as well as the capital region of Moscow and the Oryol region.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden appealed to Congress to swiftly approve further aid for Ukraine in the new year. "If Congress does not act urgently in the new year, we will not be able to continue to provide the weapons and vital air defense systems that Ukraine needs to protect its people," said Biden. Congress must "act, and act without further delay".

In view of the scale of the Russian attacks, calls for arms supplies for Ukraine have also become louder in Germany. The West must switch from "passive to active", demanded the former head of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Ischinger. In the event of further attacks against civilian Ukrainian targets, Taurus cruise missiles should be delivered to Ukraine "the next day". FDP defense politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann also called for more military aid for Ukraine, including Taurus cruise missiles.

Read also:

• This will change in December
• Attacks on ships in the Red Sea: shipping companies avoid important trade route
• Houthi rebels want to launch further attacks despite international coalition
• USA forms military coalition against Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea

1. The attacks on Ukraine, as explained by President Volodymyr Zelensky, have impacted over 120 towns and villages, including Odessa.
2. The start of the war between Russia and Ukraine has seen a continuous series of attacks, with one of the heaviest waves happening recently.
3. Moscow, the Russian capital, has not been spared from these attacks, with Russian authorities reporting several attacks on their border regions.
4. To combat these attacks, Russia has reportedly carried out "50 group attacks and one massive attack" between December 23 and 29.
5. The Ukrainian region of Lviv, located in the west, was also targeted, with schools, a maternity clinic, and residential buildings being hit.
6. The city of Belgorod, located around 30 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, saw a child killed and several others injured in Ukrainian shelling.
7. In a separate incident, the Russian city of Bryansk, also a border region, experienced a child fatality due to Ukrainian shelling.
8. According to the General Staff of Ukraine, important infrastructure, military, and civilian industrial facilities have also been targeted in these attacks.
9. In response to these attacks, the US President Joe Biden has appealed to Congress to swiftly approve further aid for Ukraine.
10. The former head of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Ischinger, has called for an active response from the West, suggesting the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
11. The FDP defense politician, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, has also called for more military aid for Ukraine, including Taurus cruise missiles.

Source: www.stern.de