- Drone attack forces residents of Kyiv to take shelter
- It follows the largest air assault of the war a day earlier
- NATO chief calls for more weapons for Ukraine
- Britain sends metal detectors to clear landmines
- Both sides on the eastern Ukrainian front line still dug in
Kyiv, 30 Dec. (Reuters) – Residents of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv were urged to head to air raid shelters early on Friday as sirens wailed across the city, a day after Russia carried out one of its deadliest air strikes large since the war began in Kyiv. February.
Shortly after 2:00 a.m., the Kyiv city government issued an alert on its Telegram messaging app channel about air raid sirens and asked residents to proceed to shelters.
Olekskiy Kuleba, governor of the Kyiv region, told Telegram that there was a “drone attack”.
A Reuters witness 20 km (12 miles) south of Kyiv heard several explosions and the sound of anti-aircraft fire.
Ukraine’s military said 16 Iranian-made Shahed drones were launched and all were destroyed. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 7 were targeted in the city and an administrative building was partially destroyed.
Kyiv says Iran is supplying Moscow with drones for its airstrikes, but Tehran says it last sent drones to Russia before the war began.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on Friday morning that Russia had launched 85 missile strikes, 35 airstrikes and 63 strikes from multiple rocket-launching systems in the past 24 hours.
He said Moscow’s forces also shelled 20 settlements around the bombed town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, where some of the fiercest fighting is taking place, and more than 25 settlements in the regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
Reuters could not immediately verify reports from the battlefield.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said most of the regions affected by Thursday’s massive airstrike suffered power outages.
Areas where the loss of power was “particularly difficult” included the capital Kyiv, Odesa and Kherson in the south and surrounding regions, and around Lviv near the western border with Poland, Zelenskiy said.
“But this is nothing compared to what could have happened if it were not for our heroic anti-aircraft gunners and air defense,” Zelenskiy said.
Waves of Russian airstrikes in recent months against energy infrastructure have left millions without electricity or heating in often freezing temperatures.
ASK FOR MORE WEAPONS
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on NATO member states to supply more weapons to Ukraine, according to an interview published Friday.
“I am asking allies to do more. It is in all our security interests to make sure that Ukraine prevails and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin does not win,” Stoltenberg told German news agency DPA.
Stoltenberg told DPA that military support for Ukraine was the fastest way to peace.
“We know that most wars end at the negotiating table, probably this war too, but we know that what Ukraine can achieve in these negotiations is inextricably dependent on the military situation,” he said.
The United States last week announced nearly $2 billion in additional military aid, including the Patriot Air Defense System, which provides protection against aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles.
Britain said on Friday it has given Ukraine more than 1,000 metal detectors and 100 kits to defuse bombs and help clear minefields.
“Russia’s use of landmines and the targeting of civilian infrastructure underscore the shocking callousness of Putin’s invasion,” British Defense Minister Ben Wallace said in a statement.
“This latest UK support package will help Ukraine safely clear land and buildings as it reclaims its rightful territory.”
The metal detectors, made by German company Vallon, can help troops clear safe routes on roads and paths by helping to eliminate explosive hazards, the defense ministry said, while the kits can disarm the fuse of unexploded bombs.
Wallace said on Thursday that Britain would allocate 2.3 billion pounds ($2.77 billion) to Ukraine in military aid by 2023, the same amount it has provided this year.
BATTLE FIELDS
Moscow has repeatedly denied that it has targeted civilians, but Ukraine says its daily shelling is destroying cities, towns and the country’s electrical, medical and other infrastructure.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what President Vladimir Putin calls a “special military operation” against what it perceives as threats to its security.
Ukraine and its Western allies have denounced Russia’s actions as an imperialist-style land grab and have imposed sanctions to try to disrupt the campaign.
The 11-month war has killed tens of thousands of people, driven millions from their homes, left cities in ruins and shaken the global economy, sending energy and food prices soaring.
The most intense fighting is taking place in the eastern provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, which together form the industrial region of Donbas. Russia claimed in September to have annexed them, along with the southern provinces of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, but does not fully control any of them.
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Reuters bureau reports; Written by Grant McCool and Michael Perry; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Simon Cameron-Moore
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