Russians killed 5 civilians, injured 129 in Ukraine on January 2. Fires still being put out in Kyiv
Russians have killed five people and injured 129 others so far in a large-scale attack on January 2, 2024. Kyiv was the main target of the attack. They launched 99 missiles of various types towards Ukraine, 72 of which were destroyed. Firefighters continue to extinguish blazes in the city.
The press service of Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported that a total of five people have been killed, and 119 others injured, in the attack in Ukraine so far.
The emergency workers noted that over 500 personnel and 111 pieces of equipment were involved as the Russian attack raged.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said two people died and 49 were wounded in a strike on blocks of flats in the Solomianskyi district of the capital. Two more deaths were reported in the Kyiv Oblast.
Kyiv officials said debris from Russia’s attacks had hit high-rise flats, warehouses and supermarkets, and that two people including an elderly woman had been killed by a missile in the Solomianskyi district to the southwest of the city centre.
Minor debris from the downed missile fell near the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, the acting head of the city’s Shevchenkivskyi District, Oleksandr Popovtsev, said on national television. The debris fell into a park area and shattered windows in approximately ten houses. Fortunately, there were no casualties.
According to the BBC News, a woman was killed, and 44 others were hurt in the northeastern city of Kharkiv.
Moreover, the Russian military attacked Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhya Oblast with two guided bombs at about 9.30 a.m. on Jan. 2. According to the head of the regional military administration Yuriy Malashko, a 75-year-old resident of one of the apartments in the building was taken to the hospital with injuries.
“As a result of the strike, a building was damaged, and the whole entry section was destroyed,” Malashko said.
The Kharkiv regional governor said a 91-year-old woman died and 44 others were woundedRussia launched its biggest aerial bombardment of the war late last week, killing more than 40 people. Ukrainian forces responded with an attack on the evacuated Russian border city of Belgorod on Saturday. Some Ukrainian rockets were shot down, killing at least 25 people and injuring more than 100.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged to “intensify” attacks against Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, has expressed his gratitude to Western partners for providing the air defence systems that have shot down a record number of Russian Kinzhal “hypersonic” missiles.
Valerii ZaluzhnyiIn his statement on X on January 2, he stressed that Ukraine needs more anti-ballistic weapons, as there is no reason to assume that Russia will stop.
According to him, today, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shot down 10 out of 10 Kinzhal missiles with the help of the Patriot air defence system.
“This is a record. If the missiles hit their targets, the consequences would be catastrophic,” Zaluzhnyi said.
National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov has also reacted by calling on the world to provide Kyiv with more weapons to stop Russian aggression.
After the second massive Russian attack in the last four days, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba listed five urgent steps he is expecting from allies:
- Expedite the delivery of additional air defence systems and ammunition to Ukraine;
- Provide Ukraine with combat drones of all types;
- Provide Ukraine with long-range missiles of 300 kilometer+ range;
- Approve the use of frozen Russian assets for assisting Ukraine;
- Isolate Russian diplomats in relevant capitals and international organizations.
In a phone conversation on January 2024, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that Russia has launched at least 500 missiles and drones at Ukraine over the past five days. Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for the UK’s “substantial and comprehensive” efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s air defence.
The human rights community in Ukraine believes that the de-occupation of Crimea is necessary to stop the systematic and gross violations of human rights committed by the Russian Federation on the peninsula. They are urging other countries to support Ukraine with timely and sufficient supplies of weapons and military equipment.
Earlier at the international conference Global Crimea, Anton Korynevych, the ambassador-at-large of Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, called on countries from all continents to join the coalition in order to create a special tribunal for Russia.
