The new year has come for Ukraine bringing relentless air raids by Russia, slowly decimating air defense systems, as well as other industrial and military targets.
On Tuesday (2), Russia heavily pounded Ukraine’s two biggest cities in a wave of air strikes, prompting calls for the West to quickly provide more military assistance to Kiev.
Reuters reported:
“The missile and drone attacks on the capital Kyiv and the northeastern city of Kharkov also wounded dozens of people, caused widespread damage, and hit power supplies, officials said.
Russia has intensified its attacks over the New Year period, with President Vladimir Putin warning on Monday that a Ukrainian air strike on the Russian city of Belgorod, which Moscow said killed 25 civilians, would ‘not go unpunished’.”
[…] Russia stepped up missile and drone strikes on Dec. 29, when it launched its largest air attack of the war, killing at least 39 people. Kyiv had warned for weeks that Russia appeared to be stockpiling missiles for big attacks.”
Read: Mainstream Media Bitterly Comes to Terms With Vladimir Putin’s Successes in the Ukraine War
Next month’s second anniversary of the war brings an ever-stronger Russia and Ukraine with dwindling resources and allies.
The New York Times reported:
“The barrage — which the Ukrainian Air Force said involved about 100 missiles, including hypersonic weapons that fly at several times the speed of sound — was the latest in an escalating cycle of air assaults between the two countries, as both sides look for ways to inflict damage away from the largely deadlocked front line.
[…] The recent strikes against Ukraine may also be the start of another Russian air campaign against critical infrastructure. The Ukrainian authorities had warned for months that Russia was stockpiling high-precision missiles to pound cities once the weather turned cold in a repeat of last year’s bombing campaign. Experts believe that strategy is aimed at diminishing Ukrainian morale and weakening its military and industrial capacities.”
The usual falsities regarding the Air Defense were presented by Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s top commander.
He said that the Ukrainian Army had shot down about three-quarters of the Russian missiles fired on Tuesday, ‘including all 10 hypersonic missiles’.
The real assessment is that Ukraine has never ever shot down any Kinzhal (dagger) supersonic missile that moves at 10 times the speed of sound.
“The recent wave of missile attacks intensified on Friday, when a ferocious Russian missile barrage killed at least 39 people, wounded about 160 others and hit industrial and military infrastructure as well as hospitals and schools, Ukrainian officials said.”
In the exchange of air, drone and missile raids, Ukrainian forces shot a barrage of missiles with cluster munition at the civilian center of Belgorod, killing 24 people — the deadliest attack on the Russian territory since the start of the war.
“Hitting Kyiv on Tuesday appeared to be a prime objective. Air-raid alerts sounded throughout the morning, as wave after wave of missiles rained down, punctuated by loud bangs of air defense systems trying to destroy them. Massive plumes of black and white smoke rose over the capital, cutting through the gray early morning sky, as several buildings were hit.
Kharkiv, near the border with Russia, also came under a large-scale missile attack, according to its mayor, Ihor Terekhov. One person was killed there and 45 were injured, he said.”
Russia expanded its missile production in the past year despite Western sanctions.
Ukrainian officials warned that ‘Russia had stockpiled more than 800 high-precision weapons in preparation for massive winter assaults’.
According to Russian Telegram channel Правда Шурави results of today’s Russian air raids as follows:
“Three warehouses and a hangar storing Harpoon anti-ship missiles and missile launcher were destroyed in Odessa.
At this time, it is known for sure that a huge number of command posts with British and Polish military personnel have been destroyed.
[…] According to the reports from ground the SBU is chasing everyone who takes videos of the arrivals and recording the work of the air defense, as their missiles, leaving a contrail, are demolishing penthouses and higher floors of new multistory buildings.
8 “Kinzhals” were fired, hit all targets and destroyed the Patriot air defense system, underground warehouse with AtacMS missiles, and an underground command post of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to some reports, and the Turks confirm them, 9 generals were killed, one of them was Zaluzhny’s deputy.”
Watch: 2 missile arrivals in Kiev.
“In the Kharkov region, two Iris T air defense systems, 4 Gepard tanks, two command centers and about 65 officers were destroyed. Everything is tight.
In the Kyiv region, in addition to the Patriot air defense system, 4 command centers and two hotels with mercenaries from Sweden, Denmark, Lithuania and Estonia were destroyed. More than 78 people were killed, about 1000 missiles for Iris T and NASAMS were destroyed in the Goloseevsky district of Kyiv.
A warehouse with Storm Shadow missiles was destroyed in Krapivnitsky. More than 25 missiles. Plus two SU-24 aircraft and a repair base.”
Ukraine Watch, on Telegram:
“Today, Russian forces again carried out combined strikes on facilities in Kiev using Geran-2 kamikaze drones, Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and improvised decoys.
One of the targets was the Mayak factory, which produced firearms and mortars before the special military operation and has been producing ammunition, including for drones, since last year. There are also three protected bomb shelters on its territory, suitable for storing various types of cargo.”
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