KYIV, Ukraine – Russia launched 122 missiles and dozens of drones against Ukrainian targets, officials said Friday, killing at least 24 civilians across the country in what an air force official said was the largest airstrike of the war.
Ukraine’s air force intercepted most Shahed-type ballistic and cruise missiles and drones overnight, Ukrainian military chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said.
Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on his official Telegram channel that it was the “biggest airstrike” since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the previous largest attack was in November 2022 when Russia launched 96 missiles against Ukraine. This year, the largest was 81 missiles on March 9, according to Air Force records.
Western officials and analysts have recently warned that Russia has limited its cruise missile strikes in recent months in an apparent effort to build up reserves for a large-scale strike during the winter, hoping to demoralize Ukraine.
Fighting on the front lines has been largely hampered by winter weather after Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive failed to make significant gains along some 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) of contact lines.
Russia launched 122 missiles and dozens of drones against Ukrainian targets. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich The drone killed at least 24 people across the country. AP Missile explosions are seen in the sky above the city during Russian missile and drone strikes. Reuters
Ukrainian officials have urged the country’s Western allies to provide more air defenses to protect itself from airstrikes like the one on Friday. Their appeal comes as a sign of war fatigue straining efforts to maintain support.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the major attack should move the world to further action in support of Ukraine.
“These widespread attacks on Ukrainian cities show that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin will stop at nothing to achieve his goal of eliminating freedom and democracy,” Sunak said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. “We must continue to stand with Ukraine – as long as it takes.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the scale of the attack should make people aware of Ukraine’s ongoing needs.
“Today, millions of Ukrainians woke up to the sound of loud explosions,” he wrote on X. “I hope the explosions in Ukraine can be heard around the world. In all major capitals, headquarters and parliaments, which are now debating further support for Ukraine.”
The previous largest attack was in November 2022 when Russia launched 96 missiles against Ukraine. REUTERS Ukraine’s Air Force intercepted most Shahed-type ballistic and cruise missiles and drones overnight. Reuters
At least 130 people were injured and an unknown number buried under rubble during the roughly 18-hour attack, Ukrainian officials said.
Among the buildings reported damaged across Ukraine were maternity hospitals, apartment blocks and schools.
In Boyarka, a town near Kyiv, debris from a downed drone landed on a house and started a fire.
Andrii Korobka, 47, said his mother was sleeping next to the room where the plane’s debris landed and was taken to hospital due to shock.
“War is ongoing, and it can happen to any home, even if you think your home will not be affected,” Korobka said.
Tetiana Sakhnenko, who lives next door, said neighbors ran with buckets of water to put out the fire but it spread quickly. “It was very scary,” he said.
Ukrainian officials have urged the country’s Western allies to provide more air defenses to protect itself from airstrikes. REUTERS At least 130 people were injured and an unknown number buried under rubble during the roughly 18-hour attack. REUTERS A medical worker helps a man injured during a Russian missile and drone attack. Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kremlin forces were using a wide variety of weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles.
“Today, Russia uses almost all types of weapons in its arsenal,” Zelenskyy told X.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said Russia “appears to have launched everything they had,” except for submarine-launched Kalibr missiles, in the attack.
Airstrikes that began Thursday and continued through the night hit six cities, including the capital, Kyiv, and other areas from east to west and north to south Ukraine, according to authorities.
Reports of death and damage came in from all over the country.
Five people were killed and 20 injured in the eastern city of Dnipro where four maternity hospital patients were rescued from a fire, officials said.
Among the buildings reported damaged across Ukraine were maternity hospitals, apartment blocks and schools. Getty Images Debris fell in Podil’s residential district, causing a warehouse to catch fire during a Russian missile attack. Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images Rescuers and medics provide first aid to victims near the Lukianivska metro station on Dec. 29. Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
In Odesa, on the southern coast, debris from a falling drone sparked a fire in a high-rise residential building, according to the regional head, Oleh Kiper. Two people were killed and 15, including two children, were injured in the Odesa attack, he said.
The mayor of the western city of Lviv, Andrii Sadovyi, said one person was killed and eight were injured and three schools and a kindergarten were damaged in drone strikes in the region.
Several dozen missiles were fired at Kyiv during the night, with more than 30 intercepted, said Serhii Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration.
The attack sparked a fire at a warehouse in the capital’s Podil district where five people were reportedly pulled from the rubble. Three people were killed in the capital.
In northeastern Ukraine, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said the city was subjected to at least three waves of airstrikes overnight, including the launch of S-300 and Kh-21 missiles.
One person was killed and at least nine were injured, officials said.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
