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The expectation of success from the Ukrainian counteroffensive was “certainly excessive,” says Bundeswehr General Freuding. According to Mayor Klitschko, the anti-aircraft defense system is in use in Kiev. The current developments in the live blog.
The Polish army reports that a flying object entered Polish airspace in the morning from the direction of the Ukrainian border. It is not known what kind of missile it was, explains the operational command on platform X.
Russia’s massive airstrikes in recent hours have also targeted the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, which lies near the border with Poland. The Ukrainian Air Force says it has shot down the majority of drones and cruise missiles fired from Russia.
According to the military there, the air attack on Ukraine was the largest since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022. 158 drones and missiles were fired on Ukraine during the night, the army command said on the short message service Telegram.
Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valeryi Zalushnyj spoke of 122 rockets and cruise missiles as well as 36 drones. The air defense was able to intercept more than 70 percent of them.
The attack took place in several waves from different directions and using strategic bombers. The targets of the attacks were civil and military infrastructure as well as industrial facilities.
According to official information from Kiev, at least twelve people have died in the unprecedented Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine. The number of injured was put at 75 this morning, Ukrainian media reported, citing the Interior Ministry. In the city of Dnipro alone, there were five civilian deaths and more than 20 injured, according to the local military administration.
Hatched: territories occupied by Russia
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia fired around 110 missiles in its massive airstrike. Most of them were shot down by air defense, Zelensky said. It was one of the heaviest air strikes on Ukraine to date.
Conflict parties as a source
In the current situation, information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian parties to the conflict cannot be directly verified by an independent body.
According to the government in Kiev, there were power outages in four Ukrainian regions following the massive Russian air strike. The Ministry of Energy reports that the north and south of the country are affected.
More deaths are reported in Ukraine as a result of the massive Russian airstrike. Four people were killed and more than a dozen others injured in the eastern city of Dnipro, local authorities said. According to the region’s governor, a maternity hospital and a shopping center were hit. The Ministry of Health says an unspecified medical facility in the city was significantly damaged. However, all patients and employees were able to get to safety.
Two people were killed in the Black Sea port city of Odessa, the regional governor there said. At least 15 other people were injured, including two children. Rockets hit residential buildings. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal accused Russia of targeting not only energy but also social infrastructure.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the latest Russian attacks were a massive airstrike using a variety of weapons. In addition to drones, Russia also uses cruise missiles as well as hypersonic and ballistic missiles, an Air Force spokesman said on television. X-22 rockets are also used, which are extremely difficult to intercept.
According to Bundeswehr Major General Christian Freuding, some Russian capabilities were not initially recognized when looking at the war in Ukraine. The head of the Ukraine Situation Center in the Ministry of Defense told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that they “did not initially see the Russians’ ability to endure as we judge them today.” “We also didn’t see that they would succeed in what we are now clearly observing: that they will ramp up their military-industrial complex, expand it, and increase production capacity, despite the draconian sanctions regime.”
Perhaps they did not see or did not want to see that they would be able to continue to be supplied by allies. “Be it North Korea, be it China, even states from the global south. And if these states only supply refrigerator lighting that can then be used for military purposes.”
The expectation that the Ukrainians would achieve the greatest possible military success as quickly as possible in their counteroffensive was “certainly exaggerated in retrospect.” At the same time, Freuding emphasized that, from his military perspective, the Ukrainian armed forces were successful. “80 percent of Ukraine is still free, after two years against a supposed military power. They have regained 50 percent of the territory they lost. The Russian Black Sea Fleet has de facto been pushed out of the western Black Sea.”
Ukraine is increasingly successful in “striking in depth behind Russian lines, including with home-made weapon systems.” Freuding emphasized that the Russian losses in people and material were enormous. “We assume that they have suffered losses of main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles in the high four-digit range.”
According to the authorities, one person was killed and 15 others were injured in massive air strikes on Ukraine. The fatality is reported from Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine. There are eight injured there. Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on television that 22 air strikes had been counted. A hospital, several residential buildings and industrial facilities were hit.
Seven injuries are reported from Kyiv. Mayor Vitali Klitschko writes on the short message service Telegram that a subway station used as a shelter was damaged.
According to the authorities, a high-rise residential building caught fire as a result of the Russian air strikes on Kiev. The city administration said there were injuries. The fire was caused by falling debris. A warehouse is also on fire.
According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, anti-aircraft defense is in large-scale operation in Kiev. There is a missile warning for the capital and explosions can be heard, writes Klitschko in the short message service Telegram. Further information is not initially available.
According to Ukrainian reports, the Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Lviv were attacked by Russia during the night. In Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, Mayor Ihor Terekhov spoke of a “massive attack” in which “at least six explosions” were heard.
The mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi, said there were two attacks. Lviv is located in western Ukraine and is comparatively rarely the target of attacks. Both politicians initially did not comment on damage or victims.
Rebecca Barth, ARD Kiev, tagesschau, December 29, 2023 6:41 a.m
Falling parts of a downed drone set a high-rise building in Odessa on fire, according to local authorities. The region’s governor, Oleh Kiper, reported the drone attack on the short message service Telegram: “A high-rise building in Odessa was damaged by a downed drone.” There is still no information about possible deaths or injuries. The governor urged all residents of the city to remain in shelters during the drone strike.
According to Ukrainian President Zelensky, twelve million tons of cargo have been transported through the Black Sea corridor. Two Russian authors were sentenced to long prison terms because of a poem. Thursday’s live blog for reading.