Residents in Kyiv celebrating the new year were interrupted by air raid sirens and a hail of missiles, in what Ukrainian officials are calling targeted attacks on civilians.
Dozens were wounded New Year’s Eve and into the early hours of 2023 as rockets hit the capital city and around the country, in the wake of a widespread Russian battering of Ukrainian power and water infrastructure last week. Attacks on infrastructure have increased dire conditions for Ukrainians amid freezing temperatures.
“This time, Russia’s mass missile attack is deliberately targeting residential areas, not even our energy infrastructure,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Saturday.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two schools were damaged in the latest attacks, including a kindergarten.
In Kherson, at least one person was killed amid shelling Saturday night that also blew out the windows in a children’s hospital, deputy presidential chief of staff Kyrylo Tymoshenko said. One woman also died in a rocket attack in the eastern town of Khmelnytskyi, the city’s mayor said.
Instead of fireworks, some Ukrainians said they watched sparks light up the sky as Ukrainian forces defended against Russian attacks.
“Of course it was hard to celebrate fully because we understand that our soldiers can’t be with their family,” Kyiv resident Evheniya Shulzhenko said.
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Other developments:
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