Russia and Ukraine reported deadly attacks Monday, as the two sides carried out shelling and drone assaults and Ukraine began another year working to repel Russia’s invasion.
The Russia-installed head of the occupied Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine said shelling in the city of Donetsk killed four people and injured 13 others.
In southern Ukraine, Governor Oleg Kiper said falling debris from a thwarted Russian drone attack hit residential buildings in Odesa, killing one person and wounding three others.
Ukraine’s air defenses shot down several drones in the Lviv region in western Ukraine, officials there said.
Overall, Ukraine’s air force said Monday that Russia launched a record 90 drones in multiple waves, with Ukrainian air defenses downing 87 of them.
Zelenskyy address
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a New Year’s address that in 2024, Russia “will feel the wrath of our domestic production,” including “at least a million” Ukrainian drones.
He alluded to the recent Ukrainian attack on a Russian ship in Crimea, saying “our actions in the Black Sea have become a dark chapter” in the history of Russia’s fleet.
“And no matter how many missiles the enemy fires, no matter how many shellings and attacks – vile, ruthless, massive – the enemy carries out in an attempt to break Ukrainians, intimidate them, knock Ukraine down, drive them underground, we will still rise,” Zelenskyy said. “Because the one who brings hell to our land will one day see it from his own window.”
Zelenskyy said that while Ukraine does not know for certain what the new year will bring, “Whatever it brings, we will be stronger.”
Putin address
In a prerecorded New Year’s address to the nation, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Russia’s “united society,” and stressed that Russia will never back down in its war on Ukraine.
“What united us and unites us is the fate of the Fatherland, a deep understanding of the highest significance of the historical stage through which Russia is passing,” the president said while praising Russian citizens’ “solidarity, mercy and fortitude.”
He also lauded the Russian armed forces involved in what the Kremlin has termed its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
“We are proud of you; you are heroes. You feel the support of the entire people,” Putin said.
Some material for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.