RECEPTION: On 1 January, Vladimir Putin held a reception for Russian soldiers participating in the fighting in Ukraine. It happened at his residence Novo-Ogarjovo. The image was published by the state news agency Sputnik. Photo: GAVRIIL GRIGOROV / AFP / NTB
The Russian drone and rocket attack against Kyiv before the New Year has cost 29 people their lives. In Belgorod, Russia, 24 are dead after the attack the following day.
Published:
Less than 20 minutes ago
It is Ukrainskaya Pravda and Russian BBC who reports this.
– What happened in Belgorod was undoubtedly an act of terrorism. It was a targeted attack against civilians, says Putin during a visit to wounded soldiers at a military hospital, reproduced by Interfax.
He did not mention that it happened after Russia had carried out one of the worst attacks against Ukraine since full-scale war began on February 24, 2022.
– Of course we can hit the squares in Kyiv and other cities, but there are children walking there, women with prams. Everything boils inside me, says President Putin.
On the night of 1 January, there was a massive drone attack against Ukraine. The military leadership in Ukraine claims that they managed to shoot down 87 out of 90 so-called “suicide drones”, reports Ukrainskaya Pravda.
According to the newspaper, this is a record-breaking attack.
CLOSED: Red Square in Moscow was closed for New Year’s celebrations. The reason was the fear of attack. Photo: YURI KOCHETKOV / EPA / NTB
The head of the Ukrainian Air Force Nikolay Oleshchuk signs Telegram:
– On New Year’s Eve one year ago, we stopped 45 Shahed drones. This time 87! Let’s keep the sky clean.
The attacks were aimed at a number of Ukrainian regions, and came from four directions, partly from Russian territory, partly from Russian-occupied Crimea.
– We are carrying out several attacks today, and we will do so tomorrow as well, says Putin.
– They want to scare us and create insecurity. Not a single crime will go unpunished, claims the Russian president.
DESTROYED: A museum in Lviv is completely destroyed after a Russian rocket attack on New Year’s Eve. The picture is from the morning of 1 January. Photo: STRINGER / Reuters / NTB
On Saturday, Ukraine attacked Belgorod inside Russia. More than 70 drones were sent against Russian targets in “response to Russia’s terrorist attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilians,” a Ukrainian security source told the BBC. Now the governor of Belgorod Vyacheslav Gladkov reports that 24 people are dead and 108 injured after the attack.
In an interview with the Economist, President Volodymyr Zelenskyj comes down hard on Putin:
– Putin feels weakness like an animal, because he is an animal.
Zelenskyj does not present plans for any major 2024 offensive in the interview with The Economist. Instead, he talks about Ukriana focusing on Crimea and defence.
In 2023, there were high expectations for Ukraine’s offensive in the spring and summer. But it was all a disappointment as the war has largely been deadlocked.
Now, a year later, Zelenskyj is more reserved. He says, however, that the battle for Crimea and the sea areas around it will be important.
– It is very important for us, because we can then reduce attacks from that side, says the President of Ukraine.
Russia already annexed Crimea in 2014.
Volodymyr Zelenskyj is still concerned about the Western support:
– By giving us money or weapons, you in the West are saving your own children, not ours, Zelenskyj says.
The only formal charge against Putin – which comes from the International Criminal Court – is that he is to blame for children being taken from orphanages in Ukraine and adopted away in Russia.
Published:
Published: 02.01.24 at 02:04
2024-01-02 01:04:18
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