Airstrikes hit kyiv and other Ukrainian regions, injuring many people. “Ukraine will not forgive,” reacted Volodymyr Zelensky.
SourceAFP
© SERGEY DOLZHENKO / EPA
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Lhe capital of Ukraine was the target of new Russian strikes on Saturday 31 December. In the early afternoon, AFP journalists heard at least 11 explosions as the city prepared to celebrate the New Year despite more than ten months of fierce fighting at the front since the invasion of the country by the Russia launched in February 2022. Other cities were targeted by strikes during the day, leaving at least one dead and around 30 injured.
The mayor of kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, announced at least one death and 20 injuries in the capital. These strikes ripped open the facade of the four-star Alfavito hotel in the center, spreading rubble in the street, according to AFP. Nearby sidewalks were covered in glass from blown windows, including those in the National Palace of the Arts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was quick to react: “No one will forgive you for terror. No one in the world will forgive you. Ukraine will not forgive,” he wrote in Russian on Telegram, assuring: “Those who order such strikes and those who carry them out will not be pardoned, to say the least. »
Other strikes in Mykolaiv and Khmelnitsky
Filmmaker Yaroslav Mutenko, 23, who lives in the area, said he was showering before going to a New Year’s Eve party when he heard an explosion. The latest Russian bombings haven’t dampened her desire to go to the party. “Our enemies, the Russians, can destroy our calm, but they cannot destroy our spirit. This year, it is important to have people close to you”, he justifies himself.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russian strikes caused destruction and fires in Mykolaiv, in the south, where at least six people were injured, and in Khmelnitsky, in the west, where four people were injured. According to Ukrainian Chief of Staff Valery Zalouzhny, Russian forces fired 20 cruise missiles, including from strategic bombers from the Caspian Sea, 12 of which were shot down by anti-aircraft defense.
After several military setbacks on the front, Russia has opted since October for a tactic of bombing Ukrainian infrastructure, which regularly causes massive cuts in electricity and running water.
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