New assessment after Russian attacks. At least 30 people were killed and 160 wounded in massive Russian strikes overnight Thursday into Friday, Ukrainian authorities announced in a new statement. The blasts hit essential infrastructure, industrial, military and civilian installations, Ukrainian civil servants said in a statement.
“The Great Attack”. According to Ukrainian civil servants, Russia fired nearly 160 devices, including cruise missiles and Shahed explosive drones. Anti-aircraft defenses shot down 88 missiles and 27 drones. “Russia has used almost every type of weapon in its arsenal,” said President Volodymyr Zelensky. “This is a very large missile attack,” assured air force spokesman Yuri Ignat, just days before the battle.
In turn, the Ukrainians attack. A day after the Russian strikes, one person died in a Ukrainian attack on a residential building in Belgorod, the region's governor, Vyacheslav Kladkov, announced. The Russian Defense Ministry also indicated that the anti-aircraft defense systems destroyed 13 missiles in the region. 32 Ukrainian drones were also neutralized in the Bryansk, Kursk and Orel regions north of the Ukrainian border, as well as in the Moscow region.
UN condemnation. “Unfortunately, today's appalling attacks are just the latest in a series of frequent attacks by the Russian Federation,” UN Under-Secretary-General Mohammed said on Friday. “The Secretary-General unequivocally condemns today's horrific attacks against towns and villages in Ukraine,” he said, adding, “Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are a violation of international humanitarian law.
Biden's call. US President Joe Biden on Friday urged Congress to “act without further delay” after the “massive bombings” in Ukraine, as negotiations to approve a massive aid package for Kyiv continue to slip. “Unless Congress takes urgent action in the new year, we will not be able to continue sending Ukraine the weapons and air defense systems it desperately needs to protect its people,” the president warned in a press release.
England sends arms. The United Kingdom announced on Friday it was sending about 200 anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine to bolster its defenses, calling on its allies to “redouble their efforts” to support Kiev militarily after a wave of Russian attacks on several cities in the country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is “testing Ukraine's security and the West's resolve…and today's air defense package sends an unmistakable message that, in the face of Russian brutality, the United Kingdom is “absolutely committed to supporting Ukraine,” British Defense Minister Grant Shabbs said in a statement. .
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