At least 30 people killed in Russian air attack
Russia launched a massive air attack over Ukraine on Friday, killing at least 30 people and wounding over a hundred across the country in the fiercest assault since the first days of the war nearly two years ago. Schools, a maternity hospital, shopping arcades and blocks of flats were among the buildings hit in the barrage, said Ukrainian officials. The attacks -- which also saw a Russian missile passing through Polish airspace -- triggered international condemnation and fresh promises of military support to Ukraine, which has been fighting Russia since late February 2022. "Today Russia hit us with almost everything it has in its arsenal," President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Ukraine's military estimated that Russia had fired 158 missiles and drones on Ukraine and 114 of them had been destroyed. Air force spokesman Yuriy Ignat told AFP that this was a "record number" of missiles and "the most massive missile attack" of the war, excluding the early days of constant bombardment. Russia tried to overwhelm Ukraine's air defences across most major cities, launching a wave of Shahed attack drones followed by missiles of numerous types fired from planes and from Russian-controlled territory. Interior Minister Igor Klymenko announced on Telegram: "As of now, 30 people have been killed and more than 160 wounded as a result of Russia's massive attack on Ukrainian territory in the morning." Russia's army said it had "carried out 50 group strikes and one massive strike" on military facilities in Ukraine over the past week, adding that "all targets were hit." Poland reported that a Russian missile passed through its airspace. "Everything indicates that a Russian missile entered Polish airspace... It also left," said General Wieslaw Kukula, chief of the general staff of the Polish armed forces. After speaking to Polish President Andrzej Duda, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance "stands in solidarity" with Poland, adding: "NATO remains vigilant". In the face of sustained Russian assaults, Ukraine is urging Western allies to maintain military support. Ukraine presidential aide Andriy Yermak said Kyiv needed "more support and strength to stop this terror." US President Joe Biden called on Congress to overcome its division to approve new aid for Ukraine, after Washington released its final package of weaponry under existing agreements still to be renewed by Congress. "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 in a statement. "Congress must step up and act without any further delay." Britain announced it would send hundreds more air-defence missiles to Kyiv, after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared that "We must continue to stand with Ukraine -- for as long as it takes". The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell described it as "yet another cowardly and indiscriminate" attack on civilians. (AFP)_____________________________
Last updated: 2023-12-30 HKT 02:13 