The Kremlin claims Ukraine launched missile and drone attack against Russia

A day after launching one of the largest attacks on Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion, Russia claimed on Saturday that Kyiv launched 13 missiles and 32 drones on the Russian regions of Bryansk, Belgorod, Oryol, Kursk (near the border with Ukraine) and Moscow. Local authorities say several people were killed in the attack, including three children, while many more were injured.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its units in the area thwarted what it called “an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack.” Authorities in the Belgorod region, which has already been targeted in raids by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said that dozens of houses and power lines had been damaged in the attacks, and the water supply had been interrupted. The Ukrainian army has not commented on the attack on Russian territory, but did share a video on its Telegram channel, in which the sky over a city identified as Belgorod can be seen, as well as a fire in a building. Belgorod authorities have asked citizens to take shelter from possible new attacks.

Meanwhile, in Ukraine, the death toll from Russia’s attack on Friday continues to rise. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy,120 large and small cities were hit in the offensive. In Kyiv alone, 16 people were killed, while across the country, the toll is at least 31. “The Dec. 29 attack has been the deadliest for Kyiv in terms of civilian casualties,” the major of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, said on Saturday. Ukraine said Russia used drones and 160 projectiles in Friday’s attack, including Shahed-136/131 missiles. Residents in the cities hit in the attack are now concerned about what may happen during celebrations for the New Year, which is an important traditional holiday in Ukraine.

Western analysts and officials believe that Russia has been reserving cruise missiles for the past few months to build up reserves and launch massive attacks during the winter, like the one on Friday. They also warn that Russia is launching drones and missiles in a bid to locate Ukraine’s anti-aircraft defenses and their blind spots. Indeed, none of the ballistic or cruise missiles launched by Moscow’s troops on Friday were intercepted. On Saturday, the Ukrainian General Staff said that Ukraine’s forces had shot down a dozen Iranian-made Shahed drones in the regions of Kherson, Khmelnytskyi and Mykolaiv.

Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of the Russian region of Bryansk, said that Saturday’s attack was aimed at against “civilian targets,” and that one child had died. In Belgorod, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported that one man and two minors had been killed. The Russian army also said that it shot down a Ukrainian maritime drone that was heading to the Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Several Kyiv intelligence reports said that one of the attacks targeted an electronics factory that Kremlin troops use to manufacture military equipment such as long-range missiles and anti-aircraft systems. According to Moscow, they were all civilian targets.

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