Russia launched a record 90 drones over Ukraine early in the new year, and Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country would step up attacks.
The Ukrainian Air Force said it had destroyed 87 of the 90 drones, and that the attacks were carried out in waves from four directions.military shared a message online And he said, “Let's protect the sky!” Together, we will win. ”
Putin made the remarks during a visit to a military hospital on New Year's Day after Ukraine attacked the Russian border city of Belgorod, killing more than 20 people and injuring 100 others. Associated Press (AP News) reported.
It was one of Ukraine's worst attacks on mainland Russia since the war began nearly two years ago. President Putin called the attack a “terrorist attack” and said: “They aim to intimidate us and create uncertainty in our country.”
“We intensify the strike. No crime against our civilian population will go unpunished,” Putin said, according to the Associated Press.
In his year-end speech, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pledged to increase domestically produced weapons next year in preparation for war against Russia.
President Putin also delivered a New Year's address. Although he did not mention Ukraine by name in his speech, the war was a central theme of his remarks. He said Russia “will never back down.”
Russia and Ukraine have relied on explosive drones throughout the war, the Associated Press reported.
In the latest Russian attack, a downed drone crashed into a residential building in Odesa, Ukraine, killing a 15-year-old boy and injuring seven others, the country's military chief Ole Kiper said, according to the Associated Press. said.
Drone strikes and shelling have killed three people in Ukraine's Kharkiv and Sumy regions, the Associated Press reported.
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