Key events
More detail is emerging about the Russian missile attack on Kyiv – at least 10 people were wounded, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital, Vitali Klitschko, said on the Telegram messaging app.
Here are some recent images of the conflict:
Russia launched a total of 35 attack drones at Ukraine in the early hours of Monday, Ukraine’s air force said, with air defence systems destroying all the drones.
Downed drone debris sparked a fire at a residential building in one of Kyiv’s districts following a drone attack the capital, Ukrainian officials said.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app that the loud explosions heard in the city were the work of air defence systems engaged in repelling the attack. Falling drone debris sparked a fire in Desnianskyi district, he said. The district, on the east bank of the Dnipro River is Kyiv’s most populous.
Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said emergency services were also dispatched to Holosiivskyi district along the west bank of the Dnipro. There were no immediate reports of casualties, Popko said on the Telegram.
Loud explosions in Kyiv
Ukraine’s air force said multiple missiles were flying towards the capital Kyiv early on Tuesday, shortly after nationwide air alerts were raised due to a threat from Russian bombers.
A series of more than 10 loud explosions were heard by Agence France-Presse journalists in Kyiv on Tuesday morning, shaking buildings in the centre.
The city’s military administration said fragments of downed rockets had fallen in several districts including on residential buildings. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said power had gone out in several areas of the capital.
“Kyiv – stay in shelters. Many missiles heading in your direction,” the air force said on Telegram.
The air force said Russians were launching Kinzhal missiles and more were heading towards the capital. Strikes have hit the northeastern city of Kharkiv, said the head of the military administration, Oleg Sinegubov.
Summary
Hello, this is the starting point for the Guardian’s daily live coverage of the Russian war against Ukraine.
Russia has launched a missile attack on Kyiv hours after a drone attack, the capital’s military administration has said. The assault comes after Russian president Vladimir Putin vowed to intensify strikes on Ukraine after an unprecedented and deadly attack by Ukraine on the Russian city of Belgorod over the weekend.
Russia launched a total of 35 attack drones at Ukraine in the early hours of Monday, Ukraine’s air force said, with air defence systems destroying all the drones.
Downed drone debris sparked a fire at a residential building in Desnianskyi, one of Kyiv’s most populous districts, Ukrainian officials said.
More on that soon. Here is a summary of the most recent developments:
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The death toll following Ukrainian strikes on Belgorod has risen to 25, according to the region’s governor. Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Monday a four-year-old girl died from injuries sustained in the attack. The attack on Saturday came after Moscow launched a large-scale attack on Ukrainian cities on Friday.
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Ukraine claims Russia has launched a ‘record number’ of attack drones on New Year’s Day. Ukraine’s air force said 87 out of 90 drones had successfully been shot down.
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Russian drones attacked a university and a museum linked to two of the most prominent 20th century defenders of Ukrainian national identity on Monday, leaving locals vowing to repair the damage. The first smashed windows and much of the roof at the National Agrarian University, outside the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, where Stepan Bandera – a hero in Ukraine but a villain according to the Kremlin – studied. The second ravaged a nearby museum devoted to Roman Shukhevych.
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Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the Economist that the notion that Russia was winning the nearly two-year-old war was only a “feeling” and that Moscow was still suffering heavy battlefield losses. Zelenskiy, in an interview published on Monday, provided no substantiation of his allegation on Russian losses. He said Ukraine’s priorities in 2024 included hitting Russia’s strengths in Crimea to reduce the number of attacks on his country as well as protecting key cities on the eastern front.
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In the interview, Zelenskiy rejected any suggestion that Moscow was interested in peace talks, pointing to Moscow’s repeated waves of aerial strikes. “I see only the steps of a terrorist country,” he said.
