Russia unleashes biggest air attack on Ukraine since start of full-scale invasion

The wave of attacks began overnight into Friday and struck nationwide, with blasts reported in the capital Kyiv, as well as at a maternity hospital in the central city of Dnipro, the eastern city of Kharkiv, the southeastern port of Odesa, and the western city of Lviv, far from the frontlines.

“It’s been a long time since we have seen so many enemy targets on our monitors in all regions and all directions,” Yurii Ihnat, spokesperson for Ukraine’s air force, told national television. “Everything was being fired.”

Russia used 158 drones and missiles, including hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, cruise missiles and Shahed drones, to strike targets in Kyiv, the east, south and west of the country, Ukraine’s air force said.

“Today the enemy has struck a powerful blow. There are downed targets, however unfortunately there are also casualties,” Ihnat added.

At least three people were killed and 28 injured, including 25 hospitalized, in Kyiv after Russia targeted a metro station and residential buildings. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said four people had been pulled from the rubble of a damaged warehouse in Shevchenkivskyi district, adding that rescue operations were ongoing.

Kharkiv was hit by a “massive attack,” Ukrainian Prime Minster Denys Shmyhal said, with more than 20 strikes reported in the region, including on a hospital. At least three people were killed and 11 injured in the strikes, according to regional military administration head Oleh Syniehubov.

At least four people were killed and 10 people were injured in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia, the regional military administration head Yurif Malashko said on Telegram. Emergency workers are still working to see if people are trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings. Malashko said the region had been targeted by 10 missiles, including Kinzhal missiles, of which one was intercepted.

Further south, a school building was hit in Odesa, injuring seven people, including a child. Three people were killed and 22 injured – including two children and a pregnant woman – in strikes elsewhere in the region, according to Oleh Kiper, head of Odesa region military administration. At least 18 people were hospitalized.

And in the central city of Dnipro, at least five were killed and more than 20 injured, officials said.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said Russia had targeted “Ukrainian women, children, the elderly, and civilians” in the strikes.

“The crimes that Russia has committed in Ukraine today are its revenge for its inability to turn the tide of the battle in the fight against the Ukrainian defense forces,” it said in a statement.

Without referring directly to Friday’s attacks, the Russian Defense Ministry said its army had “carried out 50 group strikes and one mass strike with high-precision weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles” in the period from December 23 to 29, claiming it had only struck military targets.

The massive overnight assault comes just days after Ukraine struck a Russian Navy landing ship in Crimea on Tuesday, causing severe damage to the vessel in another major blow to Moscow’s Black Sea fleet.

But the onslaught also came shortly after Ukraine received the last package of military aid from the United States until Congress approves the Biden administration’s funding request.

Nearly two years since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky is facing a largely-stalled counteroffensive while Western aid has begun to dry up.

The head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, called for support as his country battles Russian airstrikes.

“A massive terrorist attack, rockets are flying at our cities again, and civilians are being targeted,” Yermak said in a Telegram post on Friday.

“Ukraine needs support. We will be even stronger, we are doing everything to strengthen our air shield. But the world needs to see that we need more support and strength to stop this terror.”

Prime Minister Shmyhal said the attacks “targeted social and critical infrastructure,” but praised the work of Ukraine’s air force.

“Ukrainian air defense forces have once again demonstrated a high level of professionalism. Most of the air targets were shot down. We thank the soldiers for saving lives.”

The US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, shared a screenshot on X, formerly Twitter, of the numerous air raid warnings sent to Ukrainian phones overnight.

“This is what Ukrainians see on their phones this morning,” she said. “As a result, millions of men, women, and children are in bomb shelters as Russia fires missiles across the country. Ukraine needs funding now to continue to fight for freedom from such horror in 2024.”

Bombers in the air

The Ukrainian Air Force said it recorded “the departure of 9 Tu-95MS strategic bombers from the ‘Olenya’ airfield in the Murmansk region of Russia.”

The Tu-95 bomber is a mainstay of Russia’s aerial attacks on Ukraine, able to launch cruise missiles against its neighbor out of the range of most air-defense systems.

In Kyiv, officials warned residents to take shelter as a “UAV threat” was detected in the area, a reference to drones.

Trains were halted as a building was damaged at Lukianivska subway station in central Kyiv, which is also operating as a shelter, Klitschko said.

Many were wounded and a search for victims is underway after a warehouse caught fire in the Podilskyi district of the capital region, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, Serhiy Popko, said in a Telegram post.

In the northeastern city of Sumy, numerous explosions were heard on Thursday evening local time following Russian shelling “of the border territories and settlements,” the administration in the area reported.

A residential building was hit and caught fire, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said on Telegram Friday.

In Lviv, which borders Poland, at least 15 people were injured, with damage reported in 13 residential buildings and two schools, according to the head of Lviv region military administration Maksym Kozytskyi.

Friday’s widespread strikes followed Russia’s launch of 53 attacks across eastern Ukraine on Thursday, according to a Telegram post from the Ukrainian General Staff.

Russia launched dozens of airstrikes, wounding civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure, the post said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he wished the “loud sound of explosions” heard across Ukraine Friday morning “could be heard all around the world.”

“In all major capitals, headquarters, and parliaments, which are currently debating further support for Ukraine. In all newsrooms, which are writing about ‘fatigue’ or Russia purportedly being ready for ‘negotiations,’” he wrote on X.

“These sounds are what Russia really has to say. Our only collective response can and must be continued, robust, and long-term military and financial assistance to Ukraine. Only greater firepower can silence Russian terror.”