Russia Launches Drone Strikes on Ukraine

Russia launched a fresh drone assault on Ukraine on Saturday night, after promising that strikes on the Russian border city of Belgorod earlier in the day “would not go unpunished.”

The Ukrainian Air Force stated today that it had shot down 21 of 49 drones launched by Russian forces overnight.

Regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov disclosed today that twenty-eight people were wounded in an attack on the eastern city of Kharkiv.

According to the regional prosecutor’s office, a central hotel, apartment buildings, kindergarten, shops and administrative buildings sustained damage.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said that it had hit “decision-making centres and military facilities” in Kharkiv, reporting that its strike on the Kharkiv Palace Hotel had “destroyed representatives of the Main Intelligence Directorate and Ukrainian Armed Forces” involved in the “terrorist attack” in Belgorod.

Meanwhile, Kyiv’s air force has warned Ukrainians marking New Year’s Eve across the war-torn country not to ignore air raid warnings and not set off fireworks as they ring in 2024.

The warning comes off the back of a series of strikes by Russia and Ukraine.