Live blog: UN slams Russia over 158 missile, drone strikes on Ukraine

Friday, December 29, 2023

2137 GMT — A senior UN official has condemned Russia for its "appalling assaults" on Ukraine, which saw some 158 missiles and drones launched, which Kiev blamed for the deaths of at least 30 people.

"Regrettably, today's appalling assaults were only the latest in a series of escalating attacks by the Russian Federation," said UN assistant secretary-general Mohamed Khiari.

"The [UN] Secretary-General unequivocally condemns, in the strongest possible terms, today's appalling attacks on cities and towns across Ukraine. Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure violate international humanitarian law, are unacceptable and must stop immediately."

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1601 GMT — Zelenskyy visits battle frontline of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he visited the town of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, which is under regular attack by Russian forces.

"Avdiivka, I visited the positions of the 110th mechanised brigade," he wrote on Telegram along with a video of him in front of a sign with the name of the town, giving medals to soldiers.

"This is one of the most difficult areas of the front line," he wrote. "I thank all those who are at the first line (of fire) for their service, for this year during which the entire country survived thanks to its soldiers," he said.

Zelenskyy has visited the frontline several times since Russia attacked Ukraine in February 2022, including the scenes of some of the deadliest fighting, like the eastern town of Bakhmut.

Russian forces have been trying for months to encircle Avdiivka, which used to be an industrial centre in the eastern Donbass region. It has become a key battle site since Ukraine's counteroffensive failed to pierce through Russia's defensive lines.

1749 GMT — Toll from Russian strikes rises to 30 dead, 160 wounded: minister

The toll from the massive strikes Russia launched over Ukraine has risen to 30 dead and more than 160 wounded, Interior Minister Igor Klymenko has said.

"As of now, 30 people have been killed and more than 160 wounded as a result of Russia's massive attack on Ukrainian territory in the morning", he wrote on Telegram on Friday.

It marked the most massive attack since the earliest days of the war Russia launched in February 2022.

1710 GMT — Congress 'must step up' to help Ukraine after massive Russian strikes: Biden

US President Joe Biden has demanded Congress "step up" and overcome divisions on sending aid to Ukraine, saying that a massive Russian air attack demonstrates that the Kremlin hopes to "obliterate" the pro-Western country.

"Unless Congress takes urgent action in the new year, we will not be able to continue sending the weapons and vital air defence systems that Ukraine needs to protect its people. Congress must step up and act without any further delay," Biden said in a statement on Friday.

1708 GMT — Missile strikes in Ukraine show Putin's objective 'remains unchanged': Biden

US President Joe Biden has said that Russia's latest missile barrage on Ukraine is "a stark reminder to the world that, after nearly two years of this devastating war, Putin’s objective remains unchanged."

"He seeks to obliterate Ukraine and subjugate its people. He must be stopped," Biden said.

Biden also added that Ukraine used air defence systems that the United States and its allies and partners had provided to successfully intercept and destroy many of the missiles and drones launched by Russia.

1657 GMT — Biden closely following 'missile in Polish airspace' reports: White House

US President Joe Biden is closely following reports of a missile temporarily entering Polish airspace, the White House has said.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan discussed those reports in a call on Friday with Polish Secretary of State Jacek Siewiera, the White House said.

Sullivan "expressed the United States’ solidarity with Poland, our close NATO ally" and pledged technical assistance as needed, according to a statement from the White House.

1604 GMT — Britain to send 200 air defence missiles to Ukraine: British defence ministry

Britain is sending around 200 air defence missiles to Ukraine to help protect civilians and infrastructure from Russian drones and bombing, the British Ministry of Defence has said.

The shipment comes as Russia unleashed one of its biggest missile attacks on Ukraine of the war, according to Kiev, killing 18 civilians and wounding dozens of others on Friday.

1501 GMT — NATO is monitoring the situation in Poland: Stoltenberg

NATO is monitoring the situation in Poland, after a Russian missile appears likely to have entered the airspace of the country, member of the alliance, NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on social network X.

"I spoke with (the Polish) President Andrzej Duda about the missile incident in Poland. NATO stands in solidarity with our valued ally, is monitoring the situation and we will remain in contact as the facts are established. NATO remains vigilant," Stoltenberg said.

1342 GMT — UN rights chief urges Russia to halt attacks on Ukraine

UN human rights chief Volker Turk has condemned the wave of Russian strikes across Ukraine and urged Moscow to cease the attacks "immediately".

"I am shocked by yet another full-scale set of coordinated missile and drone attacks," Turk said in a statement on Friday.

He called on Russia to "cease its attacks on Ukraine immediately, and to strictly respect all the rules of international law relating to the conduct of hostilities".

1330 GMT — Object in Polish airspace most likely Russian missile: Polish general

Everything indicates that the object that entered Polish airspace on Friday was likely a Russian missile which then went back into Ukraine, a Polish general has said.

Poland’s defense forces said an unknown object entered the country’s airspace Friday morning from the direction of Ukraine and then vanished off radars, and that all indications pointed to it being a Russian missile.

“It was monitored by us on radars and left the airspace. We have confirmation of this on radars and from allies" in NATO, said Poland’s armed forces chief, Gen. Wiesław Kukuła.

Poland’s defense forces said the object penetrated about 40 kilometers into its airspace and left it after less than three minutes. The defense forces said both its radar and NATO radar confirmed that the object left Polish airspace.

1300 GMT — Putin's spy chief vows to prevent foreign meddling in presidential election

President Vladimir Putin's foreign intelligence chief has said in a video release that Russia's spies should make every effort to prevent any foreign meddling in the March presidential election.

Putin announced this month, in comments made to soldiers, that he would run in the election - a step that is expected to enable him to stay in power for at least another six years.

1251 GMT — Ukraine fires US-made HARM missiles into Belgorod: Russia

Russia's Defence Ministry has said that Ukraine had fired three US-made HARM missiles into the Russian region of Belgorod.

"Three Ukrainian HARM missiles manufactured by the United States were destroyed over the territory of the Belgorod region by air defence systems," the ministry said.

Russia targeted Ukraine with 158 drones and missiles overnight, aiming for critical infrastructure, industry and military facilities, the Ukrainian military said.

1238 GMT — EU's Borrell slams Russia's 'cowardly' Ukraine strikes

The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned Russia's latest deadly bombardment of Ukrainian cities, accusing Moscow of targeting civilians.

"Overnight, Russia launched one of the largest attacks since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine against cities and the population," Borrell posted to X on Friday.

"It was yet another cowardly and indiscriminate targeting of schools, a metro station and a hospital, resulting in the death of at least 16 people and several wounded. The EU stands with Ukraine, as long as it takes."

1154 GMT — France condemns Russian 'strategy of terror' in Ukraine

France has condemned the Russian "strategy of terror" in the aftermath of recent strikes on Kiev.

"Russia is continuing its strategy of terror aimed at destroying Ukrainian civilian infrastructure in order to undermine resilience of the Ukrainian population," the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"France will continue to support Ukraine and provide it with the necessary assistance to enable it to exercise its self-defence, in close coordination with its partners."

1120 GMT — Ukraine needs funding now' after Russian strikes: US envoy

The US ambassador to Kiev said the latest Russian strikes on Ukraine showed it "needs funding now", as the White House pushes for more military aid despite opposition in Congress.

"Ukraine needs funding now to continue to fight for freedom from such horror in 2024," Bridget Brink wrote on X on Friday.

1108 GMT — 'All targets were hit' in Ukraine strikes: Russia

Russia's army has said it had struck all its targets in dozens of attacks on Ukraine over a week, the latest of which killed at least 16 people.

"In the period from 23 to 29 December, the armed forces of the Russian Federation carried out 50 group strikes and one massive strike. All targets were hit," the army said in its daily update on Friday, adding it was aiming at military facilities.

1019 GMT — Russia targets Ukraine with 'the most massive aerial attack'

Russia launched 122 missiles and 36 drones against Ukrainian targets, officials have said, killing at least 18 civilians across the country in what an air force official said was the biggest aerial barrage of the 22-month war.

The Ukrainian air force intercepted 87 of the missiles and 27 of the Shahed-type drones overnight, Ukraine’s military chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said.

Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on his official Telegram channel: “The most massive aerial attack” since Russia's military campaign in February 2022.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the previous biggest assault was in November 2022 when Russia launched 96 missiles against Ukraine. This year, the biggest was 81 missiles on March 9, air force records show.

1054 GMT — Ukraine strikes show 'Putin will stop at nothing': Sunak

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said Moscow's latest missile strikes on Ukraine showed Russian President Vladimir "Putin will stop at nothing to achieve his aim of eradicating freedom and democracy".

"We will not let him win. We must continue to stand with Ukraine — for as long as it takes," he added on X, formerly Twitter.

1031 GMT — Unidentified object entered airspace from Ukraine: Poland

Poland has reported an unidentified object had flown into its airspace from Ukraine, with the country's armed forces saying the incident could be linked to the massive Russian air attack on Ukraine.

"The object arrived from the Ukrainian border," Colonel Jacek Goryszewski, spokesman of the operational command of the armed forces, told news channel TVN24, adding: "There was intense shelling of Ukrainian territory at night so this incident could be linked to that".

1021 GMT — Kremlin says it has list of Western assets to be seized if Russian assets are confiscated

The Kremlin on Friday warned the West that it had a list of US, European and other assets that would be seized if G7 leaders decided to go ahead and confiscate $300 billion in frozen Russian central bank reserves.

Leaders of the Group of Seven major industrialised nations will discuss a new legal theory that would enable the seizure of frozen Russian assets when they meet in February, two sources familiar with the plans and a British official said on Thursday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said any such move by the West would amount to "theft", violate international law, and undermine reserve currencies, the global financial system and the world economy.

"It will be a significant blow to the main parameters of the international economy, it will undermine the international economy," Peskov told reporters.

"It will undermine the confidence of other countries in the United States as well as in the EU as economic guarantors. Therefore, such actions are fraught with very, very serious consequences."

0821 GMT — Russia fires 110 missiles at Ukraine in Friday attack: Zelenskyy

Russia launched approximately 110 missiles on Friday in one of its biggest air attacks on Ukraine, with most of them being shot down, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

0727 GMT — Russia targets social, critical infrastructure in strike: Kiev

Russia targeted social and critical infrastructure in a major missile and drone strike on Ukraine, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

There was no immediate comment from Russia about the air attack.

0658 GMT — Russia launched massive combined air attack on Ukraine: Ukraine air force

Russia launched a massive combined air attack on Ukraine, using drones and several types of missiles, Ukraine's Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said.

Hypersonic, cruise and ballistic missiles, including X-22 type, which are extremely hard to intercept, were used, he said in televised comments.

Blasts were officially reported in Ukraine's capital, the northern city of Kharkiv, western Lviv and eastern Dnipro.

0601 GMT — Explosions in Ukraine's capital trigger countrywide air alerts

A series of blasts were heard in Kiev as air defence systems were engaged after an announced missile threat, Kiev mayor has said.

Authorities issued countrywide air alerts as Russian missiles struck several other cities.

"Explosions in Kiev. Air defence works. Stay in shelters!" Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kiev said in a social media post that an online air alert notification system was issued just after 0500 GMT.

0319 GMT — Ukraine's Kharkiv under missile attack, drones fly over Lviv

The Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has come under a Russian missile attack, Mayor Ihor Terehov said, with at least six blasts registered.

At the same time, air defences were active in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv as it came under the attack of Russian drones, regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

0820 GMT — Russia’s synchronised attacks on Ukraine claim at least 10 lives

A wave of Russian attacks killed at least 10 people and wounded dozens across Ukraine, officials have said, with the toll expected to rise.

“Almost 15 people were injured. Four were killed” in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, its governor Sergiy Lysak said, while other local authorities reported two dead in Kiev, two others in Odessa, one dead in Kharkiv and one in Lviv.

2213 GMT — Ukraine official says drone debris hits Odessa building

A fire has broken out at a multi-storey building in the Black Sea port city of Odessa after drones were reported to be headed for the area, authorities said.

"A high-rise building in Odessa was damaged by a downed drone," Oleh Kiper, the regional governor, said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

He said information about casualties was being verified and urged townspeople to stay in shelters amid an ongoing drone attack.

Local Telegram channels posted photos and videos of a fire that appeared to be affecting the upper two levels of a building, but none immediately reported casualties.

2300 GMT — Air defences active in Lviv amid drone attack

Air defences were active in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv as it came under the attack of Russian drones, regional governor, Maksym Kozytskyi, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

For our live updates from Thursday (December 28), click here.