Ukraine retaliates with drone swarm after ‘massive’ Russian strike kills 39

The drone swarm came a day after what Ukraine described as the heaviest Russian missile bombardment of the 22-month war

Casualties were reported in Russia’s Belgorod region, with at least two children killed and several others injured, the region’s governor says

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Firefighters extinguish a burning car following what was said to be Ukrainian forces’ shelling in Belgorod, Russia. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:33pm, 30 Dec 2023Updated: 10:41pm, 30 Dec 2023

Russia said its air defence shot down 32 Ukrainian drones, including near Moscow, in one of the biggest strikes on central Russia in recent months, with casualties reported in the Belgorod region.

The drone swarm came a day after what Ukraine described as the heaviest Russian missile bombardment of the 22-month war. At least 39 people were killed, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday, including many in the capital, Kyiv. Another 159 or more were injured in cities across Ukraine. The exchange of hostilities shattered a relative calm in the air over recent weeks.

Belgium’s prime minister vowed in a newspaper interview that Europe will support Ukraine for “as long as it takes” as his nation prepares to take up the EU’s rotating presidency on January 1. That includes urgent work on the next €50 billion (US$55.2 billion) aid package.

A man walks next to a car destroyed during a Russian missile and drone strike in Kyiv on December 29. Photo: Reuters

Russia’s defence ministry reported that the drones were destroyed over the Moscow, Bryansk, Orel and Kursk regions.

Rockets were shot down over the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine. At least two children were killed and several others injured, said the region’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov. Unverified videos on social media showed scenes of panic around an ice rink and shopping centre.

The governor of the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, said air defences were working overnight in the city of Bryansk, with two unstaffed aerial vehicles destroyed. According to him, there are no injuries.

In a rare acknowledgement of its activities in Ukraine, Russia’s defence ministry announced 50 group strikes and “one massive strike” from December 23 to December 29 on a range of Ukrainian military facilities.

According to Ukraine’s army, Russia fired 122 missiles and 36 drones Thursday night into Friday morning, with dozens hitting their marks in cities from Kharkiv in the northeast to Odesa on the Black Sea coast to Lviv in the far west, close to Poland.

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