Russia targets Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv, Kyiv with drones and missiles
One person was killed and dozens wounded in the latest barrage of Russian drones and missiles targeting Ukraine, including Kyiv and Kharkiv in the eastm RFE reports.
Kyiv was rocked by explosions early on January 2, authorities said, and power was out in several areas of the Ukrainian capital after missile defense systems were reported to have repelled a Russian missile attack that came hours after Russian drones targeted the city. In Kharkiv one person was reported killed and 20 wounded in a major Russian strike on that city.
The attacks come a day after Russia launched a record 90 Shahed-type drones across Ukraine during the early hours of the new year. Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country would “intensify” its attacks on its neighbor.
Putin's warning on January 1 came after shelling of the Russian border city of Belgorod was reported to have killed more than two dozen people and wounded more than 100 others. Russia blamed Ukraine for that attack on December 30.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called Russia a "terrorist country," and said in an interview with The Economist on January 1 that Putin showed no signs of wanting peace.
Kharkiv Regional Governor Oleh Synyehubov said on January 2 that the city of 1.4 million had been targeted by "at least four strikes," which damaged multistory buildings and civilian infrastructure in the center.
Kyiv was rocked by explosions early on January 2 with Ukraine’s military saying air defense systems had repelled a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian capital hours after Russian military drones were reported to have targeted the city.
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, said 10 people were wounded by falling debris fragments from destroyed missiles that had fallen in several districts, including on residential buildings.
"Explosions in the capital," Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app, urging people to stay safe.
Klitschko said that gas pipelines were damaged in Kyiv's Pecherskiy district and electricity was cut off in several buildings in the capital on January 2.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that it had destroyed all 35 attack drones that Russia launched after midnight targeting several cities in Ukraine, including Kyiv.
