Russia launched new attacks on Ukraine in the early hours of New Year's Eve, just a day after it vowed to take revenge for what it called a “terrorist attack” on the city of Belgorod.
Several Iranian-made 'Shahed' drones targeted Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv overnight, according to local authorities, as the two sides have taken turns accusing each other of bombing civilian areas on their shared border during the weekend.
'As a result of the nighttime attack by Russian drones on Kharkiv, buildings in the city center were damaged. These are not military facilities, but cafes, residential buildings and offices,” the city's mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote on Telegram, without naming victims.
“On the eve of New Year, the Russians want to intimidate our city, but we are not afraid.”
The attack follows the deadliest attack on civilians in Russia since the conflict began in February 2022.
Several Iranian-made 'Shahed' drones targeted Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv at night
“These are not military facilities, but cafes, residential buildings and offices,” the city's mayor, Ihor Terekhov, wrote on Telegram.
Rescue workers work at the site where an apartment building was severely damaged by a Russian missile attack
The attack follows the deadliest attack on civilians in Russia since the conflict began in February 2022
At least 22 people were killed and dozens of others injured on Saturday in Belgorod, a Russian city just 30 kilometers from the border that has been repeatedly hit by what Moscow says is indiscriminate shelling.
Moscow said Saturday's attack used controversial cluster munitions, telling an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that Kiev had targeted a sports center, an ice rink and a university.
Russian envoy Vasily Nebenzya called it a “deliberate, indiscriminate attack on a civilian target.”
Ukraine's allies have countered that responsibility ultimately lay with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the invasion of the neighboring country two years ago.
“If Russia wants anyone to be blamed for the deaths of Russians in this war, it should start with President Putin,” said British UN envoy Thomas Phipps.
Both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will deliver a New Year's Eve speech tonight as the conflict between their countries approaches its second anniversary in February.
In Belgorod, images posted online showed a street littered with rubble and smoke billowing from burnt-out cars in the city center, although MailOnline was unable to verify the veracity of the images.
Both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will deliver a New Year's Eve speech tonight as the conflict between their countries approaches its second anniversary in February.
“If Russia wants to blame anyone for the deaths of Russians in this war, it should start with President Putin,” said British UN envoy Thomas Phipps.
The prosecutor's office said Russian rocket attacks on Kharkiv had injured 26 people on Saturday evening after hitting a series of buildings including a hotel, a kindergarten, shops and restaurants.
Authorities in Belgorod said at least three children were among the 22 dead, while another 109 people were injured.
The attack came a day after Ukraine said a barrage of Russian rocket attacks on several cities, including the capital, had killed at least 40 people.
Schools, a maternity hospital, shopping arcades and apartment blocks were among the buildings hit by Friday's barrage, one of the most violent attacks since the start of the war.
Local authorities said Ukraine was still sifting through the rubble on Saturday when new attacks hit the Kherson, Zaporizhia and Chernigiv regions.
Another three people were killed on Saturday by Russian attacks across Ukraine, officials said.
The prosecutor's office said Russian rocket attacks on Kharkiv had injured 26 people on Saturday evening after hitting a series of buildings including a hotel, a kindergarten, shops and restaurants.
The victims included a British citizen, initially identified as a journalist, who was in fact a security adviser to a German media team, the statement said.
New Year's Day will be declared a day of mourning in the capital Kiev, where at least 17 people were killed, city officials said.
The United Nations condemned the attacks and said they must stop “immediately.”
In light of continued Russian attacks, Ukraine is urging Western allies to maintain military support
Britain announced it would send hundreds more air defense missiles to Kiev
New Year's Day will be declared a day of mourning in the capital Kiev, where at least 17 people were killed, city officials said.
The Russian military said it had carried out “50 group attacks and one massive attack” on military facilities in Ukraine over the past week, adding that “all targets had been hit.”
The United Nations condemned the attacks and said they must stop “immediately.”
In light of continued Russian attacks, Ukraine is urging Western allies to maintain military support.
'Next year will be a time of many decisions – global decisions. And Ukraine must be able to influence them in order to achieve its goals,” Zelensky said in his evening speech on Saturday.
“We will fight for our influence, for justice for Ukraine, and I am grateful to all the leaders who are helping, who have been with us since February 24 and will be with us in 2024.”
Britain announced it would send hundreds more air defense missiles to Kiev after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “We must continue to support Ukraine – for as long as it takes.”