Russia Strikes At Several Ukrainian Cities, Kyiv Claims It 'Shot Down 12 Missiles': Report

Russian airstrikes hit numerous locations in Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, killing at least one person and injuring dozens more, as per the media reports.

Rescuers and policemen work at the bottom of a hotel, which has been partially destroyed by a Russian strike in the center of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv on December 31

Source : AFP

Russian airstrikes attacked many parts of Ukraine on Saturday, including the capital Kyiv, where at least one person was killed and several others were injured, news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported citing Ukrainian officials.

According to the report, Ukraine's air defence knocked down 12 of Russia's 20 missiles.

“According to preliminary information, one person died in the Solomianskyi district. Several people were injured," Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said on social media. Attacks were also reported by local officials in the southern Mykolaiv region and the Khmelnytskyi region in the west, AFP reported.

#BREAKING At least 10 blasts heard in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, air raid sirens sounding: AFP journalists pic.twitter.com/9eL2BlAyZI

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) December 31, 2022

In the early afternoon, AFP journalists in Kyiv heard at least ten explosions. Attacks were also reported in the southern Mykolaiv district, where governor Vitaliy Kim said at least two persons were wounded, "one of them badly".

The mayor of the region's biggest city, Oleksandr Sienkievych, said a fire broke out in one of its areas and several residential buildings were damaged as a result of the hits, as per the AFP report. 

Several senior Ukrainian officials have mentioned the strikes in social media posts, stressing that Russia will not be able to disrupt their festivities. On Facebook, Mykolaiv Governor Vitaly Kim stated that Russian missile launches had been detected.

The aftermath of Russian strike on Mykolaiv.

📷: SESU_Ua pic.twitter.com/Ul5nX3A14O

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) December 31, 2022

On Telegram, Deputy Presidential Chief of Staff Kyrylo Tymoshenko stated that a hotel had been damaged. Across the country, air defence has been activated. A drone attack in the western city of Khmelnytskyi harmed two persons, according to a Ukrainian official.

Air Strikes Hit Ukraine From North To South On Friday: 

Air attack sirens blared overnight into Friday in Kyiv, and news agency Reuters reported hearing numerous explosions and the sound of the anti-aircraft fire south of the city when Russian forces fired 16 Iranian-made Shahed drones, quoting officials.

According to the Ukrainian military, all of the drones were destroyed. Seven had targeted Kyiv, where an administrative building had been destroyed, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces' General Staff claimed in a Friday evening statement that Russian forces had attempted to move between Bakhmut and Avdiivka, the focal points of their slow-moving effort to conquer the entire Donetsk region in the east.

Russian soldiers shelled many towns and villages, including Bakhmut, Kudryumivka to the south, adjacent Soledar, and Kostyantynivka to the west of Bakhmut, as per the report. 

(With Inputs From Agencies)