Key events
Poland renewed on Saturday an operation to search for elements of a suspected Russian rocket, which would have violated the country’s airspace on Friday morning, the Polish army said.
“We inform that on December 30 (…) ground searches will be carried out in the Lublin voivodeship to detect possible elements of the object that violated Polish airspace yesterday,” wrote the operational command of the Polish army on the social network
“The aim of the research is to definitively confirm that no element of the object remains on Polish territory.”
Polish military officials said Friday that the object left the country’s airspace within three minutes of entering from the border with Ukraine.
Some 480 soldiers from the Territorial Defense Force were expected to take part in the search near the town of Zamosc in southeastern Poland, the operational command said.
On Friday evening, the Polish Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian charge d’affaires to ask him for explanations on the violation of its airspace by a guided missile.
Moscow wants ‘concrete proof’ that missile in Poland was Russian before giving explanations
Moscow will not give an explanation for the presence of a missile in Polish airspace until it obtains “concrete evidence” that it was a Russian missile, Andrei Ordash said , Russian charge d’affaires in Poland, after being summoned to the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to RIA Novosti, a Russian media outlet close to the Kremlin, Ordash said: “Until concrete evidence is provided, we will not give any explanation, because these accusations are unfounded. »
He highlighted the incident in November 2022, when a missile killed two people in a Polish border village.
“At the time, they also tried to shift the blame for this incident to the Russian side. It later turned out that the missile was fired by the Ukrainian army,” Ordash said.
Here are some of the latest images from Ukraine:
Air raid alerts were activated in Ukrainian regions and the city of Kiev today around 10:30 a.m. local time after reports that a MiG fighter jet capable of carrying Kinzhal missiles took off from an air base in Russia, reports the Kyiv Independent.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry says Russia has lost 358,270 military personnel since its invasion began, an increase of 750 over the past day.
According to Ukrainian figures, which have not been independently verified, Russia lost 88 cruise missiles, 29 vehicles and fuel tanks, 20 armored fighting vehicles and 15 drones.
This follows a Russian air attack in which Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia launched around 110 missiles.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov spoke by telephone with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about the Russian air attack on Ukraine and the situation on the front line.
Austin said: “I emphasized that the support of the United States and our coalition of approximately 50 allies and partners for Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression would remain. »
Today I spoke with my counterpart 🇺🇦 @rustem_umerov to discuss the latest news on the ground, including Russia’s brutal air attacks. I stressed that the support of the 🇺🇸 and our coalition of around fifty allies and partners of the 🇺🇦 in its fight against Russian aggression will remain…
– Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) December 30, 2023
Ukraine attacks Russian regions of Belgorod and Bryansk
The Russian Defense Ministry said its anti-aircraft units destroyed 13 Ukrainian rockets over the southern Belgorod region on Friday and the regional governor said one person was killed and four injured in the incidents.
The governor of the Bryansk region, also in southern Russia, said six Ukrainian drones had been shot down.
Reuters reports that a ministry statement said units in the Belgorod region foiled “an attempt by the kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack,” with 13 rockets shot down.
Vyacheslav Gladkovthe governor of the Belgorod region on the Ukrainian border said a man was killed when a house was hit.
Four people were being treated for their injuries. Ten private houses were damaged and the water supply to the town of Belgorod was interrupted, Gladkov said.
Ukraine’s armed forces posted a video on Telegram of what they described as the sky above Belgorod, showing at least one building on fire.
In the Bryansk region, governor Alexandre Bogomaz said six drones were shot down in the Ukrainian attack. There were no casualties, he said.
Opening summary
Welcome to our ongoing live coverage of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Here is an overview of the latest developments.
Ukraine launched air attacks on southern Russia’s Belgorod and Bryansk regions on Friday, with Russian officials saying air defenses destroyed nearly 20 rockets and drones.
Belgorod’s governor said one person was killed and four injured in the region, while Russia’s Defense Ministry said its anti-aircraft units destroyed 13 Ukrainian rockets.
The governor of the Bryansk region said six Ukrainian drones had been shot down.
Russia launched a large wave of missile strikes on Ukrainian cities, including the capital, on Friday morning, in what Ukraine’s defense minister called the largest air attack in the nearly two-year-old war. At least 30 civilians were killed and 160 injured.
More on these stories soon as well as below, along with a roundup of other news.
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The Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down 87 cruise missiles and 27 drones out of a total of 158 aerial “targets” fired by Russia.. Kiev Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said it was “the most massive air attack of this war”, which began in February 2022 and involved 18 strategic bombers. Army chief Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi said industrial and military infrastructure and facilities had been targeted.
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Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia launched around 110 missiles during the attack. “Today, Russia used almost all types of weapons in its arsenal,” the Ukrainian president said on social media. “Russian terrorism must and will lose. »
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The Polish Armed Forces declared an unknown airborne object, which they identified as a Russian missile, entered the country’s airspace from Ukraine for less than three minutes. “It was monitored by our radars and left the airspace,” said Polish defense chief General Wiesław Kukuła. The object penetrated about 40 km (25 miles), Poland said, adding that NATO radar also confirmed that the object had left Polish airspace. The Russian charge d’affaires, summoned to the Polish Foreign Ministry, said Warsaw had provided no evidence of a missile entering its airspace.
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In a hastily called meeting At a meeting of the UN Security Council, most council members – including the United States, France and Britain – condemned the attacks.. “Tragically, 2023 ends as it began, with devastating violence against the Ukrainian people,” UN Deputy Secretary-General Khaled Khiari said after briefing the Council on the attacks.
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Britain to send around 200 air defense missiles to Ukraine after Russian strikes, the British Defense Minister said on Friday. Grant Shapps posted on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on social media: “These widespread attacks on Ukrainian cities show that Putin will stop at nothing to achieve his goal of eradicating freedom and democracy. »
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Ukrainian strike on residential building in Russian city of Belgorod leaves one dead, declared the regional governor on Friday evening. The attack killed one person and injured four others, Vyacheslav Gladkov said, adding that the city’s water supply system was damaged. The Russian Defense Ministry said air defense systems destroyed a total of 13 missiles over the border region with Ukraine.
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US President Joe Biden has called on Congress to “step up” and overcome divisions over sending aid to Ukraine., claiming that the massive Russian air attack demonstrated that the Kremlin hoped to “annihilate” this pro-Western country. Biden said in a statement: “Unless Congress takes urgent action in the new year, we will not be able to continue sending the vital weapons and air defense systems that Ukraine needs to protect its population. Congress must step up its efforts and act now. »
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Ukrainian officials have urged the country’s Western allies to provide it with more air defense to protect against air attacks like the one on Friday. Their appeals are signs of war fatigue that is straining efforts to keep support in place.
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Russia has suffered enormous human and material losses in Ukraine and its army will emerge weakened from the conflict, a senior German military official said. in an interview published Friday. Christian Freuding, head of German army support in kyiv, said: “The Russian armed forces will emerge from this war weakened, both materially and in terms of personnel. »
