KYIV has suffered a hellish night after Russia launched a massive missile attack overnight that left 53 people injured.
Ukraine’s air defences downed ten strikes – believed to be powerful Russian Iskander missiles – but damage was caused by falling rocket debris.
East2WestRussia launched a horror attack on Kyiv overnight[/caption]
East2WestUkraine’s air defences downed ten strikes[/caption]
East2WestThe missile attack left 53 people injured[/caption]
The horror hit damaged a children’s hospital and apartment building and wounded 53 people including six children, one aged only five.
Twenty people were hospitalised as a result of the heavy bombardment of Kyiv, including two children.
The military administration in the Ukrainian capital said the city had faced “the second high-speed missile attack on Kyiv in the last two days.
“Just like on December 11, the enemy used ballistic weapons.
“The Russians launched rockets at approximately 3am, most likely from the north-eastern direction.”
Mayor Vitali Kitschko said: “In one of the children’s hospitals in the Dnipro district, windows were broken and the central entrance to the institution was damaged.
“In the Dnipro district, the facade of a residential building was damaged by rocket fragments. Residents are being evacuated. Fire and rescue services and medics are working on the spot….
“Four cars are burning in the yard of a residential building. One of the balconies of the building is on fire and the facade of the building is damaged.
“Rescuers have already brought out 15 people, including four children.
“Fire services extinguish the fire. Evacuation of residents continues.
“A one-story residential building is on fire in the Darnytskyi district. Emergency services arrived at the scene….
“Fragments of a rocket also fell on a private residential building in the Dnipro district.”
The mayor added: “In total, 53 people were injured as a result of the enemy’s night attack.
“Twenty, including two children, were hospitalised.
“Doctors provided assistance to 33 injured people on the spot, notably six children.”
In the Odesa region, ten incoming Shahed kamikaze drones, launched by Russian from annexed Crimea, were destroyed.
Meanwhile, footage showed Russia had put its flag over the ruins of Maryinka, a hotly-disputed town in the Donetsk region, as it makes gains on the frontline.
And leading Putin propagandist Margarita Simonyan called on Ukrainian troops to surrender to resurgent Russians.
“Guys, you can run away – run away into captivity, to us,” she said.
“Then everything will be smooth.
“This is me addressing the Ukrainian military, who were forced there [to the war], who do not want to fight against us [Russians]
“I am sure the majority are like that.”
The setbacks for besieged Ukraine came as Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded in Washington for new military aid, but Republicans in Congress refused to commit to new support in a decisive blow to the Ukrainian leader.
Joe Biden warned his foes they were making a “Christmas gift” to Vladimir Putin by refusing to sanction urgent new munitions for Kyiv.
Elsewhere, footage showed Russian paratroopers with Lancets destroying two Ukrainian tanks and a self-propelled gun in the Klishchiivka area, according to Moscow’s defence ministry.
Biden told Zelelsnky: “We will continue to supply Ukraine with critical weapons and equipment as long as we can.”
Asked in Washington if he would cede territory to Putin, Zelensky hit back: “This is absolute madness.
“We often mention God, and it is definitely not in a Christian way.
“Our people, families, children live there. And all this is part of Ukrainian society.
“We are talking about living people, they are mocked, raped, they were killed, and we know it very well.
“The question is not only in the land, the question is in living people, their destinies. The problem lies with these families, their children.”
He vowed: “Ukraine has been defending its freedom for two years now in a full-scale war – the largest war since World War II.
“No matter what Putin tries to do, he cannot defeat Ukraine. Russia will not impose a dictatorship on us.”
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