A New Year’s Day attack on a complex in the Russian-controlled city of Makiivka killed dozens of recently mobilized troops dispatched from Moscow, according to reports from both sides, in what could be one of the deadliest known incidents involving Russian conscripts to date. Without claiming the strike, Ukraine’s military command said up to 400 Russian soldiers were killed in the incident in the city in Moscow-controlled parts of Donetsk region. Pro-Russian authorities late Sunday acknowledged there were casualties but did not comment on the Ukrainian numbers.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has praised Ukrainians for showing gratitude to the troops and each other, saying Russia’s efforts are proving futile. “Drones, missiles, anything else will not help them,” he said of the Russians. “Because we stand together. They are united only by fear.” Ukraine’s air defense systems worked all night to repel incoming drones and warn communities of the approaching danger, Portal reported.
Several waves of Russian drones targeted critical infrastructure in and around the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early Monday morning. Air raid alerts were issued in Kyiv and across eastern Ukraine, starting just before midnight and continuing to ring for hours later. Debris from a destroyed drone hit Kyiv’s northeastern Desnianskiy district, injuring a 19-year-old man who was later taken to hospital, the city’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry claimed it shot down 39 Iranian-made Shahed drones and a cruise missile last night. Earlier, we reported that Ukraine’s regional military command in the east of the country said air defense systems destroyed nine Iranian-made Shahed drones over the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia regions in the early hours of Monday. Zelenskyy added in his Monday night address that “45 ‘Shaheds’ were shot down on the first night of the year”.
Ukraine has released the latest figures on Russian casualties since the invasion began last February. It says an estimated 107,440 Russian soldiers were killed, while it claims to have destroyed 283 aircraft and more than 3,000 Russian tanks.
For the past five days, Russian and Ukrainian forces have likely fought for control of the P66 highway north of the Russian-held Lugansk city of Kremina, the UK Defense Ministry reports. The P66 is an “important supply route for the northern sector of the Russian Donbass Front from the Belgorod region of Russia” and its use has been disrupted by Ukrainian artillery since October, the ministry adds.
As a result of night strikes in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, facilities of the energy infrastructure were damaged, Caused power and heating failures, Mayor Klitschko said on Monday.
Ukraine’s top defense officials have said they believe Russia will attempt a second invasion from the north in the coming months, using troops trained over the past three months since they were mobilized in October. But Ukrainian forces defending the border say the Russians cannot break through like they did in February, when the Sumy region had no defense lines.
Russia claimed its attacks on Ukraine on New Year’s Eve – including the launch of more than 20 cruise missiles that killed at least three people – targeted its neighbor’s drone production. Among the buildings, a children’s hospital is said to have been hit by Russian shelling. Ukrainian officials claim Russia is deliberately targeting civilians to sow fear.
Ahead of the New Year, the Russian leadership issued a series of defiant messages. President Vladimir Putin said Russia will “never give in” to the West and is fighting for its “motherland, truth and justice… so that Russia’s security can be guaranteed.”