New attacks on Ukraine after deadly strike on Belgorod: Kyiv says it has shot down 21 drones

According to the representative of the regional prosecutor’s office, Dmitry Chubenko, six Iranian-made Shahed drones attacked the city of Kharkov in northeastern Ukraine at night. “As a result of a night attack by a Russian drone on Kharkov, buildings in the city center were damaged. These are not military facilities, but cafes, residential buildings and offices,” the mayor of the city, Igor Terekhov, wrote on Telegram, without reporting casualties.

“On New Year’s Eve, the Russians want to intimidate our city, but we are not afraid,” he added.

This Sunday, Ukraine said it had shot down 21 of 49 drones launched toward its territory overnight. The Air Force said it spotted 49 Iranian-made Shahed drones targeting, in particular, the Kharkov, Kherson, Nikolaev and Zaporozhye regions, of which 21 were “destroyed.”

The attack came a day after a strike attributed to the Ukrainian army that, according to the local governor, killed 22 people and 109 were injured. Ukraine. The attack is the deadliest for civilians in Russia since the conflict began in February 2022, and the Russian Defense Ministry has assured that it will not go unpunished. Ukraine regularly holds strikes in Russia, especially in the regions closest to its territory, but their losses are usually much smaller.

At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in New York, Moscow accused Kyiv of committing a “deliberate terrorist act” and “using cluster munitions.” This is a “blind and deliberate attack on a civilian target,” said Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya, accusing Kyiv of attacking a sports center, skating rink and university.

Ukraine’s allies responded that responsibility for the war lies with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “There are hundreds of thousands of Russian military personnel in Ukraine. There is not a single Ukrainian soldier in Russia,” said British representative Thomas Phipps. “If Russia wants to blame anyone for the deaths of Russians in this war, it should start with President Putin,” he added.

The attack in Belgorod came a day after particularly intense bombings in Ukraine that killed 40 people, including 17 in the capital Kyiv, according to authorities. New Russian strikes targeted Ukrainian territory on Saturday, killing three people in the Kherson, Zaporozhye and Chernihiv regions, according to various local authorities. In Kharkov, 26 people were injured on Saturday.

Speeches expected from Putin and Zelensky for the New Year

This Sunday, Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky are due to give speeches expected for the New Year, after 2023, marked by the failure of Ukraine’s summer counter-offensive and a near-freeze of the front line.

It is likely that Zelensky will again turn to his allies as Western aid begins to dry up, both in Europe and the United States. Already on Saturday, he addressed his allies with a new appeal, assuring that arming Ukraine is “a way to protect lives.”