Shortly after midnight, a series of explosions was heard in Kiev and other cities in Ukraine. Emergency sirens sounded across the country, which had just welcomed the New Year, according to Reuters. Against the background of anti-aircraft sirens in the capital, shouts could be heard coming from the balconies: “Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Heroes!” – reports Reuters.
Vitaly Klitschko, the mayor of Kiev, said that fragments of a Russian missile shot down by the Ukrainian air defense system damaged a car in the center of the capital. He added that there were no reports of casualties or injuries.
Kiev’s military administration said 23 Russian “air targets” had been shot down. It was not reported how many missiles Russian forces fired at the site Ukraine.
At night, alarm sirens sounded in Kiev Reuters
The Reuters agency also reports explosions in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine and in the Zhytomyr region in the north of the country.
The Russian missile attack happened minutes after it was posted on social media New Year’s address by President Volodymyr Zelensky. In a video, the Ukrainian leader wished his compatriots victory in the nearly 11-month war.
Saturday shelling
Earlier, on Saturday, the last day of 2022, some Ukrainian cities came under fire. Russian troops attacked Kyiv, Kramatorsk, Zaporizhia, Mykolaiv and Khmelnytskyi with missiles. The sounds of explosions were also heard in Kherson.
Hotel in Kiev destroyed by Russian shellingPAP/EPA/OLEG PETRASYUK
General Valery Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, informed on Telegram that 12 out of more than 20 missiles were disabled by the air defense forces. The most, six and five respectively, were shot down over the Kiev and Zhytomyr oblasts. Earlier, around 12 noon Polish time, an anti-aircraft alert was announced throughout Ukraine, which was canceled after 3 p.m.
Main photo source: Reuters