Russia launches overnight air assault targeting residential areas in key Ukraine cities

Russia launched a fresh bombardment on Ukrainian regions in the hours leading into New Year’s Eve, Ukrainian officials said, targeting Kyiv and inflicting damage on residential areas of the northeastern city of Kharkiv.

Ukraine’s air defense systems in the region surrounding Kyiv were engaged late on Saturday in repelling Russia’s drone attack, the military administration of the region said on their Telegram messaging channel.

The scale or potential damage of the attack was not immediately clear.

In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city where twin Russian missile strikes on Saturday injured at least 21 people, a fresh drone attack that came in several waves hit residential buildings in the city center, spouting fires, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram.

“All relevant emergency services are already on the site,” Terekhov said in a message at 1:40 a.m. local time. “Information about potential casualties is being clarified.”

The last week of 2023 has seen increased attacks by both sides, with Russia killing at least 31 civilians in its biggest air assault of war on Ukraine on Friday, and 20 people killed in result of Ukraine’s attack on the Russian provincial capital of Belgorod on Saturday.