Bombardment and air raid sirens mark Ukraine's start to 2023

Russia continued its intense attacks against Kyiv, and other parts, of Ukraine, early on New Year's Day (1 January). This was following a barrage of missiles fired  on Saturday (31 December). Overnight, air raid sirens wailed for hours.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force Command, they have destroyed 45 Iranian-made Shahed drones - 32 after midnight Sunday and 13 late Saturday.

In a combative New Year's address, Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, indicated that the war, now in its 11th month, would continue. This speech was in contrast to the messages of unity and gratitude that Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine's president, made.

Some shouted "Glory to Ukraine!" from their balconies as sirens blared in Kyiv for more than four hours.

All across the country curfews that ranged from 7 p.m. until midnight were in effect, making it impossible to celebrate the beginning of 2023 in public places.

According to Vitali Klitschko, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, fragments from the missiles that were destroyed caused minimal damage to the capital's centre.

The top Ukrainian command reported on Sunday that Russia had launched 12 air and 31 missile strikes in Ukraine in the past 24 hours.

US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink stated on Twitter that Russia coldly and cowardly attacked Ukraine during the first hours of the New Year. "Putin doesn't seem to grasp that Ukrainians are iron-clad."

Chief of Kyiv's Police, Andrii Nebytov posted a photo to Telegram. It showed a drone that was used in the attack. The sign had a Russian handwritten message on it, which read "Happy New Year".

Nebytov stated that the wreckage is not at the front where there are fierce battles, but they are on a sports ground, where children play.

Attacks Saturday: At least one person was killed in Kyiv, and a dozen were injured. They were following a series of bombardments that Russia had directed at Ukraine's water and energy infrastructures over the past few months.

According to the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, the latest attacks had caused damage to infrastructure in Sumy in the northeast of Ukraine, Khmelnytskyi, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson in the southeast and south.

Valentyn Reznichenko (guvernor of the Dnipropetrovsk Region), said Sunday morning, after reporting heavy shelling in several areas of the region over the night. He added, "Let it be quiet," referring to the one-year-old victim of the shelling.

Separately Vyacheslav Gladkov (the governor of the southern Russian region bordering Ukraine) stated that houses were damaged by overnight shelling but that there were no casualties.

Russian media reported that multiple Ukrainian attacks were being carried out in Moscow-controlled areas of the Donetsk, Luhansk regions. Local officials claimed that at most nine people were injured.

Russia's RIA state media agency reported that six people died in Saturday's attack on Donetsk hospital.

Kyiv did not immediately respond to the attack, as it almost never claims responsibility for attacks on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine.

Putin declared his invasion of Ukraine illegal on 24 February 2022, calling it a special operation to "denazify" the country and demilitarize it. He claimed that Russia was in danger from Ukraine's invasion. According to Kyiv and its Western allies, Putin's invasion of Ukraine was nothing more than an imperialist land grab.

Russian forces have been fighting for months in the east and southern parts of Ukraine to defend the lands Moscow declared annexed in September. These lands make up the larger Ukrainian industrial area of Donbas.

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