Russia’s New Year raids on Ukraine kill three, wound dozens

Russia’s New Year assault on Ukraine left three people dead and wounded another 50 as Moscow on Sunday claimed to have thwarted Kyiv’s “terror attacks” on the homeland.

The Ukrainian capital and other cities came under fire from missiles and Iranian-made drones. The Ukrainian air force said Sunday 45 Iranian-made drones had been destroyed overnight. Thirteen were shot down at the end of 2022 and another 32 after midnight, the air force said.

Andriy Nebitov, the head of the Kyiv police, posted on Facebook a picture of wreckage of a downed drone that featured the words “Happy New Year” in Russian. “That is everything you need to know about the terror state and its army,” he wrote.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, said two people died in Kyiv and the southern region of Kherson and 50 more, including children, were injured as a result of the Russian strikes. A 22-year-old woman was badly wounded in the western city of Khmelnytskyi and later died from her wounds, governor Sergiy Gamaliy, said.
On New Year’s Eve, Russian artillery hit the village of Naddniprianske outside the southern city of Kherson, severely wounding a 13-year-old and his 12-year-old sister, the Ukrainian presidency said.

The Russian pounding also left the city of Kherson and the surrounding settlements without electricity on Saturday night, the presidency added.

Russian forces in November withdrew from Kherson, the only regional capital that was held by Moscow, but has continued to batter the city ever since. In the eastern region of Donetsk, pro-Russian separatist authorities said Ukrainian shelling killed a civilian in the town of Yasynuvata.
The attacks came as President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine enters its 11th month.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP), 1 Jan, 2023 –