Ukraine’s air force said Russian forces used 35 drones and 99 missiles, including those launched from planes and the sea, with Ukrainian air defenses downing all of the drones and 72 of the missiles.
Authorities issued hours of air alerts telling people to shelter from the attacks.
“Since December 31st, Russian monsters have already fired 170 'Shahed' drones and dozens of missiles of various types. The absolute majority of them targeted civilian infrastructure,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
He put the number of injured at 92 and said Ukraine would work with “everyone around the world who values life” to bolster Ukrainian air defenses and hold Russia accountable.
“The terrorist state must feel the repercussions of its actions,” Zelenskyy said.
Klitschko said the falling debris from a downed missile injured at least 20 people and caused a fire at a multi-story building in the Ukrainian capital. He reported multiple explosions in the city as air defenses responded to the wave of Russian rockets, with fires sparked in at least five districts.
The Russian barrage, which came during the morning rush hour, also cut off electricity and damaged gas lines in parts of Kyiv.
In Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said the city was under a “major missile attack.”
Oleg Sinegubov, the head of the military administration in Kharkiv, said on Telegram that Russian strikes killed at least one person and injured more than 40 others.
Sinegubov said the attacks damaged residential and commercial buildings, in addition to infrastructure sites.
In neighboring Poland, the military said it dispatched four F-16 fighter jets to protect its airspace amid the Russia attacks.
Tuesday’s attacks followed a warning by Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russia would intensify strikes on Ukraine following a deadly Ukrainian attack Saturday on the Russian city of Belgorod that killed 24 people and wounded more than 100 others.
During a visit at a military hospital Monday, Putin called Ukraine’s attack in Belgorod “a terrorist act,” accusing Ukrainian forces of targeting "right in the city center, where people were walking around, before New Year's Eve" and alleged they had "purposefully hit the civilian population."
He said Russia would continue to hit what he called "military installations" and added that he believed the "strategic initiative" in the drawn-out conflict in Ukraine was on the Russian side. He claimed that Moscow wanted an end to the almost two-year long war but, he stressed, "only on our terms," according to Russia's state-run TASS news agency.
This report originates from VOA News. Some material came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
