Russians kill a man and injured 32 civilians in attacks on Kyiv
As a result of a massive combined strike by Russian troops on Kyiv, a 71-year-old man was killed, and at least 32 others were injured, including two children, local authorities and the State Emergency Service (SES) reported.
For almost 10 hours, Russian drones and missiles came in waves, sending residents of the Ukrainian capital into shelters in the night.
According to Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko, 28 people are injured in Kyiv.
“Already 28 injured in the capital. 13 people have been hospitalized in the city’s medical facilities,” he wrote.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service noted that hits on several residential high-rise buildings were also recorded in the Dniprovskyi District. In one of the 25-story buildings, the fire has already been extinguished, and the removal of damaged structures is currently underway. A fire also broke out in an administrative building; it has been extinguished.
SES said that 68 people were evacuated from a retirement home in the eastern Darnytskyi district.
As a result of the massive attack on Kyiv, one of the buildings of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, a dormitory of the state university “Kyiv Aviation Institute” was also damaged.
In addition, Russian strikes have damaged critical infrastructure, Vitaliy Klitschko announced this morning, stating that “4,000 residential buildings in the capital are without heat due to damage to the power supply system.”
Ukraine’s Air Force detected and tracked 559 aerial attack assets – 40 missiles and 519 drones of various types. These included:
– 519 attack drones, including Shahed-type drones and other UAVs, launched from the cities of Kursk, Oryol, Millerovo, Shatalovo, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia and from the settlement of Hvardiiske in occupied Crimea; about 300 of them were Shahed-type drones
– 10 Iskander-M ballistic or Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles launched from Ryazan and Bryansk oblasts in Russia
– 7 Iskander-K or Kalibr cruise missiles launched from Rostov Oblast and from the Black Sea – 21 Kh-101 cruise missiles launched from airspace over Vologda Oblast in Russia – 2 Kh-22 cruise missiles launched from airspace over the Black Sea
As of 1 p.m., air defense had shot down or suppressed 503 aerial assets. It reported that 10 missiles and 25 attack drones hit 30 locations. Debris from downed targets fell at 16 locations.
En route to the US to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky posted a lengthy statement on X, portraying Russian ruler Vladimir Putin as a man unserious about peace. The Ukrainian President wrote that the overnight offensive is evidence that Vladimir Putin’s teams “do not want to end the war and seek to use every opportunity to cause Ukraine even greater suffering.”
“If Russia turns even the Christmas and New Year period into a time of destroyed homes and burned apartments, of ruined power plants, then this sick activity can only be responded to with truly strong steps. The United States has this capability. Europe has this capability. Many of our partners have this capability. The key is to use it,” he said.
Zelenskyy also stated that while world leaders were focused on the bigger picture of ending the war, Ukraine needs help right now.
“Supplies for air defense must be sufficient and timely, especially now, when we need them most. There must be no delays in protecting lives”, he warned.
“Diplomacy will not work without security.”
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha commented on X that Putin “deliberately ordered a massive bombing of residential areas and critical infrastructure” after Russia hit Kyiv with strikes overnight.
In a post on social media, Sybiha pointed out that the strikes left “dozens of victims, power outages, and a third of the Ukrainian capital without heating amid winter.” Temperatures in the Ukrainian capital today are expected to hover around 1 °C (33.8 °F), with the chance of light snow.
