Russia has launched about 110 missiles as well as drones against Ukrainian targets in what appears to be one of the biggest aerial barrages of the war, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
Most of the incoming missiles and drones were shot down, but at least seven civilians were killed and an unknown number of people were buried under rubble, Ukrainian officials said.
Scores of people are reported to have been injured.
Among the buildings damaged across Ukraine were a maternity hospital, apartment blocks and schools.
Mr Zelenskiy said the Kremlin’s forces used a wide variety of weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles.
Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said Russia “apparently launched everything they have” against targets across Ukraine.
The roughly 18-hour onslaught that began on Thursday and continued through the night hit six cities, including the capital Kyiv, and other areas from east to west Ukraine, according to authorities.
A maternity ward, educational facilities, a shopping mall, multi-story residential buildings and private homes, a commercial storage, and a parking lot. Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and other cities.
Today, Russia used nearly every type of weapon in its… pic.twitter.com/q5q8Q98Njr— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 29, 2023
Mr Zelenskiy said on X: “Today, Russia used nearly every type of weapon in its arsenal.”
If the Ukrainian leader’s count is confirmed, it would be the largest aerial attack by the Kremlin’s forces since their full-scale invasion in February 2022.
According to the Ukrainian air force, the previous biggest assault was in November 2022 when Russia launched 96 missiles against Ukraine.
The bombardment came as fighting along the front line is largely bogged down by winter weather, and following Ukraine’s summer counter-offensive failed to make a significant breakthrough along the roughly 620-mile line of contact.
