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Moscow said on Sunday it had attacked targets “military”in the Ukrainian city of Kharkivbut local authorities insisted they were civilian buildings, in retaliation for the unprecedented attack that killed 24 people the day before in the Russian city of Belgorod.
Saturday, Russia had guaranteed that it would not remainunpunished“the missile and rocket attack against Belgorodabout thirty kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
Russia attacks the Kharkiv Palace hotel in Kharkiv, where foreign mercenaries were located. pic.twitter.com/t0DwZKwOoC
— News from the other side. (@LadoNoticias) December 31, 2023
LOOK HERE: Russia convenes UN Security Council meeting after Ukrainian attack in Belgorod
Moscow insists that Kyiv is responsible, but Ukraine has remained silent until now.
These attacks killed 24 people and injured 108, according to a new report released by the region’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov.
“In response to this terrorist act, Russian armed forces attacked decision-making centers and military installations.” in Kharkivdeclared the Russian Defense Minister on Sunday.
The governor of the Ukrainian region, Oleg Sinegoubovassured that the rockets hit a hotel, residential buildings, clinics and hospitals on Saturday night, injuring 28 people.
Among them were two teenagers and a British man, a security adviser to a team of German journalists, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Russia acknowledged having attacked a “old hotel complex“, he Kharkiv Palacebut stated that members of military intelligence and the Ukrainian armed forces were there “involved”in the Belgorod attack, as well as“foreign mercenaries”.
Moscow continues to deny attacking civilians in Ukraine.
The mayor of Kharkov, Igor Terekhovstated that drone strikes also damaged “cafes, residential buildings and offices”, without reporting victims.
MORE INFORMATION: Russian air defenses shoot down three Ukrainian tactical missiles over Belgorod
49 drones
O Ukrainian Air Force He said he shot down 21 of the 49 Shahed Drones of Iranian manufacture, launched against its territory during the night and directed towards the south and east.
Russian forces attacked Kharkiv, in the northeast of the country, with six guided missiles, the Air Force added, without specifying whether they reached their targets.
Although Kiev regularly carries out attacks on Russian territory using drones, this is the deadliest attack against civilians in Russia since the start of the conflict in February 2022.
The last few days have been marked by an escalation of violence between Russia and Ukraine.
On Friday, Ukraine declared mourning after what it called the most massive missile attack since the start of the conflict, not counting the first days of the war.
The president Volodimir Zelensky He said on Saturday afternoon that 39 people had died across the country, but more deaths have since been announced.
The governor of the region of Dnipropetrovsk, Sergei Lysakdeclared on Sunday that one of the injured died in hospital, bringing the death toll in his region to 7.
In Kiev, the death toll is 19, according to the capital’s military administration.
“Indiscriminate attack”
On Saturday, at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council about the Belgorod attack, the Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vassili Nebenziaaccused Kyiv of “an indiscriminate and deliberate attack against a civilian target”.
MORE INFORMATION: The story of hope and loss of Ukrainian triplets who were born the day Russia invaded their country
The British representative Thomas Phipps He replied that “If Russia wants to blame anyone for the deaths of Russians in this war, it should start with President Putin.”.
Sunday, Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, will deliver their speeches New Yearafter a 2023 marked by the failure of the Ukrainian summer counter-offensive and the almost total freezing of the front line.
Ukraine begins a difficult year as Western aid begins to dwindle, increasing the risk that the flow of ammunition and funds will dry up.
Source: Elcomercio
I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.
