Russia launched more than 100 drones at Ukraine on December 22, half of which were shot down, according to Ukraine’s military, with no casualties reported.
The regions of Kherson, Mykolayiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Poltava, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhya, Zhytomyr, and Kyiv all saw drones fired in their direction, with 52 of the total 103 shot down, the Ukrainian Air Force reported.
Businesses and apartment buildings were damaged in the Russian attacks, though at this point, the military said, “without casualties.”
Russia has stepped up its air attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy saying on December 21 that Moscow has launched more than 550 guided bombs, almost 550 drones, and 20 missiles over the past week.
Russia has systematically targeted Ukraine’s civilian and energy infrastructure since the start of the war, stepping up attacks especially at the onset of the cold season, causing maximum difficulties and lengthy power cuts for Ukrainians for the third winter in a row. It has also been accused by Kyiv of targeting residential buildings, which Moscow denies.
Russia’s massive attack comes a day after Ukraine struck high-rise buildings in Kazan, the capital of Russia’s oil-rich republic of Tatarstan.
On December 22, Ukraine appeared to again strike inside Russian territory.
Andrey Klychkov, the head of Oryol region near the border with Ukraine, said a fire broke out at a fuel infrastructure facility in the village of Stalnoy Kon after the area came under a drone attack, the second in a week.
Kyiv has not commented on the accusation, but footage on social media showed what appeared to be explosions in the area.
Ukraine has been investing heavily in drone production in part to compensate for its shortage in manpower on the battlefield.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said earlier this month that it had transferred 1.2 million drones to the armed forces through the first 11 months of 2024, including more than 6,000 deep strike drones. Ukraine’s drone production is now close to parity with Russia, experts have said.
Kyiv has used its long-range drone capacity to hit objects crucial to Russia’s war effort, such as weapons and energy facilities. It has tried to avoid civilian targets in part amid concern about backlash from its Western backers.
Kazan, one of the wealthiest cities in Russia, is approximately 800 kilometers east of Moscow.
Source: Radio Free Europe
