Russia launched one of its largest ever missile and drone strikes against Ukraine on Friday, killing at least 31 civilians, injuring more than 160 and damaging residential areas and other civilian buildings in Kyiv and other cities in the country’s south and west. , as well as the maternity hospital in the east, according to the last balance.

The Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down 87 cruise missiles and 27 drones out of 158 air “targets” launched by Russia. The assault was “one of the largest missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and villages” since the Russian invasion in February 2022, the Foreign Ministry in Kyiv said.

For his part, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that about 110 missiles were fired, most of which were shot down by Ukrainian air defense.

“Currently, it is known about 30 dead and more than 160 injured as a result of the mass attack of Russia on the territory of Ukraine this morning,” the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Ihor Klymenko, said on Facebook on Friday evening. According to him, the rescuers managed to save 53 people, eight of whom were pulled out from under the rubble.

According to official statements from various regions, at least 31 people died, Reuters counted.

In the capital Kyiv, as a result of shelling of a warehouse, residential buildings and other non-residential premises, at least nine people were killed, and 30 were confirmed injured. Eight people were killed and 13 injured in Zaporizhzhia region in the south-east of the country, the governor said. According to him, civil infrastructure objects were damaged.

Six people were killed in the center of Dnipropetrovsk region, where rockets hit a shopping center, a house and a six-story building, the governor said. According to him, the attack also caused a fire in the maternity hospital. In the Black Sea port city of Odesa, four people were killed and at least 22 were injured, including two children, the governor of the region said, reporting on the shelling of residential buildings. In Lviv, one person died and 30 were injured in a damaged multi-story residential block, the head of the region reported. According to the mayor, three schools and a kindergarten were also affected.

In the northeast of Kharkiv, a rocket damaged a warehouse, an industrial facility, a medical facility and a depot, the governor of the region reported. Three people died, 13 were injured.

For its part, NATO member Poland announced that the Russian missile appeared to have entered its airspace at a distance of about 40 km and returned to Ukraine less than three minutes later. There was no comment from Moscow, and NATO said it remained “vigilant”.

Poland claims that the missile that entered its airspace was most likely Russian. The missile returned less than three minutes later in Ukrainian airspace.

At a time when uncertainty loomed over Kiev’s future support from the West, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said a large-scale airstrike at the end of the year showed there was no need to talk about a “truce” with the Kremlin. “Today, millions of Ukrainians woke up to the loud sounds of explosions. I want these sounds of explosions in Ukraine to be heard all over the world,” said Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, calling on allies to continue long-term military aid.

“It is obvious that with the missile reserves possessed by the aggressor state, it can and will continue such attacks,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov also wrote on Facebook.

Great Britain has announced that it is sending hundreds of air defense missiles to Ukraine

After the attack on Friday, Britain announced that it was sending “hundreds of anti-aircraft missiles” to Ukraine.

“We continue to stand in defense of Ukraine. This is the reason why we are sending hundreds of air defense missiles today to complement British air defense systems, which are particularly capable of shooting down Russian drones and missiles with incredible accuracy,” British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps wrote on X. without providing other details.

Shapps called Russia’s latest attack on Ukraine a “desperate and futile attempt to regain momentum,” urging “the free world to come together and redouble our efforts to get Ukraine what it needs to win.”

Biden: the attack shows the unchanging goals of Putin

US President Joe Biden said that Russia’s latest air attack on Ukraine is reminiscent of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intentions in this country.

“This is a stark reminder to the world that after almost two years of this devastating war, Putin’s goal remains unchanged. He aims to destroy Ukraine and subjugate its people. He must be stopped,” Biden said Friday in a statement cited by CNN.

The US president again asked Congress to approve more aid to Ukraine, saying US-provided defense systems had intercepted many Russian drones and missiles launched on Friday.

“The American people can be proud of the lives we’ve helped save and the support we’ve given Ukraine as it defends its people, freedom and independence. But unless Congress takes urgent action in the new year, we will not be able to continue sending the weapons and vital air defense systems Ukraine needs to protect its people,” Biden said.

He asked for nearly $60 billion in a new aid package for Ukraine, but the funding has been blocked amid talks to tighten U.S. immigration rules. Lawmakers went on recess without reaching an agreement on new funding.

In his statement, Biden tried to emphasize the global ramifications of the struggle in Ukraine:

• “The stakes of this struggle go far beyond the borders of Ukraine. They affect the entire NATO alliance, the security of Europe and the future of transatlantic relations,” said the American president.

On the other hand, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told Poland on Friday that the US stands in solidarity with Warsaw, which is investigating the incident with the Russian missile. Sullivan pledged technical assistance as needed and assured his Polish counterpart that President Biden is “closely monitoring this issue,” the White House said in a statement.

Other reactions of solidarity with Ukraine

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the EU will continue to support Ukraine “as long as it is needed.”

“I have been with Ukraine since the first day of the Russian-aggression war. With financial, humanitarian and military support of almost 85 billion euros. We will support Ukraine as long as necessary. And now we are opening the doors of the EU to our friend and neighbor,” von der Leyen said.

The latest EU aid package proposed by Ukraine was blocked by Hungary earlier this month, but most members are considering using various mechanisms to continue providing financial aid to Ukraine.

For his part, Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, reiterated that the European Union will be with Ukraine “as long as it takes”:

• “At night, Russia carried out one of the largest attacks since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine against cities and the population. It was again a cowardly and indiscriminate attack on some schools, a metro station and a hospital.”
• The French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs condemned “Russia’s strategy of terrorism in Ukraine”: “Russia continues its strategy of terrorism aimed at destroying Ukrainian civilian infrastructure in order to undermine the resistance of the Ukrainian population in this second winter of the conflict.”

France promised to continue supporting Ukraine “with the necessary assistance so that it can carry out its legitimate defense.”

The President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, said on Friday that Russia’s latest attack on Ukraine “underlines the urgent need” to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses:

• “I am deeply concerned about the massive Russian air attack on Ukrainian cities. My thoughts are with all those affected this morning and every day of this brutal war. Today’s aggression emphasizes the urgent need to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense capabilities to protect human lives.”

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that Russia’s latest attacks on Ukraine show that Russian President Vladimir Putin will “stop at nothing” to achieve his goal of “eradicating freedom and democracy.”

“We will not let him win. We must continue to support Ukraine – no matter what,” Sunak said in a post on X.

In this way, Sunak responded to the post of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi on X, in which he said on Friday that “Russia used almost all types of weapons in its arsenal” to carry out attacks, the targets of which were a maternity hospital, educational institutions, shops. center, high-rise residential buildings, private houses and other buildings. (Source: News.ro)

READ ALSO: “Russia has used almost all types of weapons from its arsenal”

• Follow the latest events of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HotNews.ro