Russia follows up day of bombardment with overnight drone attack

Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with 16 Iranian-made Shahed Drones, Ukrainian officials announced on Friday (30 December). This comes a day after Moscow launched dozens of missiles against critical infrastructure.

After a night and day of relentless bombardment, the attack seemed to have ended by dawn. Residents were able to escape under calm skies as they hid from the elements.

According to the Ukrainian military, all drones were destroyed. Seven drones had been targeting Kyiv, where a building used for administrative purposes was damaged, Vitali Klitschko, the capital's mayor, said.

According to the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Russia launched 85 missile strikes and 35 air strikes in the last 24 hours. There were also 63 strikes using multiple rocket launch systems.

Russia's defence ministry claimed it carried out a "massive attack" on military and energy targets in order to interfere with Ukraine's ability repair equipment and move troops. The attacks were directed at energy infrastructure, and the majority were repelled by Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukrainian President.

According to Zelenskiy, the areas affected by power loss were Odesa, Kherson, the capital of Kyiv and Odesa in the south, as well as the surrounding regions and Lviv, near the border with Poland.

Zelenskiy stated that "this is nothing compared to what could have happened".

Ukrenergo, the Ukrainian grid operator, stated that the deficit in Ukraine’s energy system was the same as it was before Thursday's attacks. It said that the "consequences of the damage had much smaller impact on the operation and the power system than the enemy anticipated."

Russia has been carrying out near weekly drone and mass missile strikes against Ukraine's civil infrastructure since October. This leaves millions without heat or power as winter approaches. Russia claims its goal is to decrease Ukraine's fighting ability. Kyiv asserts that the attacks are not military in nature and are meant to hurt civilians. This is a war crime.

Kyiv claims that Iran supplies Moscow with drones to support its air attacks. Tehran refutes this.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko (deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential administration) stated that at least three people were killed by Russian shelling in an area bordering the northern Chernihiv and eastern Kharkiv regions.

According to the Ukrainian military, Moscow's forces also attacked 20 settlements near Bakhmut, an eastern Ukrainian town where fierce fighting is taking place, as well as more than 25 settlements within the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

Russia President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a videoconference. This was the most powerful leader on the planet who did not condemn Russia's invasion.

In remarks broadcast by Russian state TV, Putin spoke for eight minutes with the Chinese leader. He said that he expected a visit from his "dear friend", Xi, to Moscow in spring to "demonstrate the world the closeness between Russian-Chinese relations".

Putin stated that he wanted to strengthen military co-operation between the two nations, whose relations were becoming more important as a stabilizing factor.

Xi replied for only two minutes, saying that China was willing to intensify strategic cooperation with Russia in spite of the "difficult” situation worldwide.

Belarus, a Russian ally, has summoned Ukraine’s ambassador to complain about what it claimed was an air defense missile from Ukraine that flew into Belarus airspace on Thursday.

Alexander Volfovich (secretary of Belarus's Security Council), stated to the Russian state-owned media Sputnik Belarus that Kyiv was trying to incite a regional conflict by all means.

The Kremlin stated that it was concerned about the incident. The Ukrainian defense ministry claimed that the incident was Russian provocation, but it reserved the right of protecting its skies.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged NATO member countries to provide more weapons to Ukraine. Stoltenberg stated that it was in all of their security interests to ensure Ukraine wins and Putin doesn't win. This interview was published by DPA, a German news agency.

"We all know that wars end at negotiating tables - and probably this war too. But we also know that the military situation will determine what Ukraine can accomplish in these negotiations."

Last week, the United States announced almost $2 billion in additional military assistance, including Patriot Air Defense System. This system provides protection against aircraft, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles.

Britain announced Friday that it had given Ukraine more than 1000 metal detectors and 100 kits for deactivating bombs and clearing minefields. On Thursday, Ben Wallace, the defence minister, stated that Britain would provide military aid to Ukraine of £2.3 billion pounds in 2023. This is equal to what it provided in this year.

Russia invaded Ukraine in a "special military operations" on 24 February, Putin said. It was an attempt to counter threats to Russia's safety. It is being called an imperialist-style conquest war by the West allies and Ukraine.

In cities destroyed by Russian forces, tens of thousands of civilians from Ukraine were killed. Both sides have lost tens of thousands of troops.

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