Russia launches contemporary drone strikes on Ukraine after promising retaliation for Belgorod assault
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia launched a contemporary drone assault on Ukraine on Saturday night time, after promising that strikes on the Russian border metropolis of Belgorod earlier within the day “would not go unpunished”.
The Ukrainian Air Force mentioned Sunday that it had shot down 21 of 49 drones launched by Russian forces in a single day.
Twenty-eight individuals had been wounded in an assault on the jap metropolis of Kharkiv, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov mentioned Sunday. A central lodge, house buildings, kindergarten, retailers and administrative buildings sustained harm, in line with the regional prosecutor’s workplace.
Russia‘s Defense Ministry said that it had hit “decision-making centers and military facilities” in Kharkiv, reporting that its strike on the Kharkiv Palace Hotel had “destroyed representatives of the Main Intelligence Directorate and Ukrainian Armed Forces” involved in the “terrorist attack” in Belgorod.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said that a British journalist was among the wounded, while public German broadcaster ZDF said Sunday that one of its television crews had been in the hotel. A Ukrainian translator was hit by debris and seriously wounded, with one of the team’s safety guards additionally sustaining accidents, ZDF mentioned in an announcement.
“This is another attack by Russia on the free press,” mentioned ZDF editor-in-chief Bettina Schausten.
In the Kyiv area that surrounds the capital, a Russian drone assault prompted a hearth to interrupt out at a crucial infrastructure facility, native officers mentioned. They didn’t establish the ability additional.
Shelling within the heart of the Russian border metropolis of Belgorod Saturday killed 24 individuals, together with three youngsters. An additional 108 individuals had been wounded within the strike, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov mentioned Sunday, making it one of many deadliest assaults on Russian soil because the begin of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine 22 months in the past.
Russian authorities accused Kyiv of finishing up the assault, which happened the day after an 18-hour Russian aerial bombardment throughout Ukraine killed at the very least 41 civilians.
Russia’s Defense Ministry mentioned it recognized the ammunition used within the strike as Czech-made Vampire rockets and Olkha missiles fitted with cluster-munition warheads. It supplied no further info, and The Associated Press was unable to confirm its claims.
“This crime will not go unpunished,” the ministry mentioned in an announcement on social media.
In an emergency assembly on the U.N. Security Council demanded by Russia Saturday night time, envoy Vasily Nebenzya accused Kyiv of a “terrorist attack.” In feedback carried by Russian state media, Nebenzya claimed Ukraine had launched “a deliberate act of terrorism directed against civilians.”
Ukrainians are bracing for additional assaults. A blistering New Year’s Eve assault by Russia final yr killed at the very least three civilians.
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Kirsten Grieshaber contributed from Berlin and Elise Morton from London.
