Russians killed at least 18 civilians in missile strikes on Kyiv, Kharkiv, and other cities while Republicans in the US Congress blocked military aid to Ukraine (updated)
Eighteen people have been killed and dozens of people wounded in the morning missile attacks by Russia targeting the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, the second-largest city Kharkiv and other settlements.
According to BBC News, the Russian Armed Forces hit residential buildings early on January 23, 2024, in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, killing at least five people and injuring another 42.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelesnkyy in his evening video address to the Ukrainian people stated that about 18 civilians were killed by the Russians in this attack.
Ihor Terekhov, Mayor of Kharkiv and Oleh Syniehubov, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, reported that Russians struck the city of Kharkiv for the third time in a day, damaging residential buildings.
Another strike on residential buildings. There is not a single military facility there. Only residential buildings or civilian infrastructure facilities, such as shops, hospitals, pharmacies, etc," Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv said
The mayor of Kharkiv said part of a block of flats was destroyed and rescue workers were combing the rubble for survivors.
The sky over Kharkiv turned burnt orange with fire after the strikes, which used multiple kinds of Russian missiles. It is well known that with the city so close to the Russian border – it’s difficult to properly intercept incoming missiles in the air.
Kharkiv resident Natalia told the BBC she doesn’t remember things being this “loud” since the start of the war: “My house shook. It was all very loud. There were explosions, then another ten seconds – and another bang.”
According to the Sumy Oblast Military Administration on Telegram, Russian military launched a missile attack on critical infrastructure in the city of Shostka in Sumy Oblast at 07:05.
At least one person was killed in the city of Pavlohrad in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
In the capital of Ukraine, several other people were hurt when a block of flats caught fire and another was damaged.
Three other regions of Kyiv were also damaged by falling debris after air defences intercepted the Russian missiles during the attack. The office of mayor Vitaliy Klitschko says 20 people have been injured and 13 were hospitalized, including children.
A spokesman said a young woman was pulled from the rubble. Initially, rescuers thought she had died, but she is now in hospital in intensive care. Most of the casualties were in Kyiv’s central Solomianskyy and western Sviatoshynskyy districts.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Russia, using cruise, ballistic, air-launched and anti-aircraft missiles, launched 44 missiles at Ukraine on the morning of 23 January, and Ukrainian air defence shot down 22 of them.
A total of 44 Russian missiles were detected: 4 S-300/S-400 missiles, 15 Kh-101/Kh-555/Kh-55 missiles, 8 Kh-22 missiles, 12 Iskander-M missiles and 5 Kh-59/KhX-31 missiles.
As a result of combat operations, Ukraine’s air defense assets and personnel destroyed: 15 Kh-101/Kh-555/Kh-55 missiles, 5 Iskander-M missiles and 2 Kh-59 missiles.
Furthermore, Russian forces struck the southern city of Kherson, killing a man and injuring a woman on January 23, 2024. According to Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of the Kherson Oblast Military Administration, the Russian army killed a resident of the Korabelnyi district of Kherson. A 70-year-old man was fatally injured on the porch of a residential building.
As a result of a Russian strike on the settlement of Kindiika near Kherson, a 74-year-old woman was injured. An ambulance was sent to treat her.
Earlier, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov called 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 missiles with ranges of 300+ kilometers;
- Approve the use of frozen Russian assets for assisting Ukraine;
- Isolate Russian diplomats in relevant capitals and international organisations.
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, Ukrainian ambassador-at-large, Anton Korynevych, called on countries from all continents to join the coalition in order to create a special tribunal for Russia.
