x

WORLD

Night-time Drone Attack Hits Kyiv as Putin Heads to Belarus

December 19, 2022

KYIV, Ukraine — Multiple drones targeted Ukraine’s capital in an attack before dawn Monday, local authorities reported, as Russian President Vladimir Putin prepared to visit ally Belarus, which provided the Kremlin’s forces with a launch pad for its invasion of Ukraine almost 10 months ago.

The drone attack came three days after what Ukrainian officials described as one of Russia’s biggest assaults on Kyiv since the war started and as Moscow presses on with its effort to torment Ukraine from the air amid a broad battlefield stalemate.

Russia launched 23 self-exploding drones over Kyiv before dawn but Ukrainian forces shot down 18 of them, the Kyiv city administration said on Telegram.

No casualties were reported, but bits of wreckage from the downed drones damaged a road in the central Solomianskyi district and broke windows in a multi-story building in Shevchenkyvskyi district, city officials said.

They added that a critical infrastructure point was hit, without giving more details.

Thick smoke rises between apartment houses from a burning infrastructure project hit during a Russian drone night strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Although the capital seemed the main target of the latest Russian attack, the armed forces said that other places in the country were also targeted.

Kyiv region Gov. Oleksii Kuleba said on Telegram that some infrastructure facilities were damaged across the Kyiv region, as well as private houses, and at least two people were injured.

Ukraine’s air force said on Telegram that they were able to destroy 30 of at least 35 self-exploding drones that Russia launched across the country from the eastern side of the Azov Sea on Ukraine’s southeast coast. Russia is on the other side of the sea.

The Ukrainian military has reported increasing success in shooting down incoming Russian missiles and explosive drones.

Moscow has been targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, including in Kyiv, as part of a strategy to try to leave the country without heat and light during the bitterly cold winter. It has kept up that effort despite W estern sanctions and the supply of W estern air defense systems to Ukrainian forces.

On Friday, Ukraine’s capital was attacked as part of a massive strike from Russia. Dozens of missiles were launched across the country, triggering widespread power outages.

A Ukrainian firefighter and serviceman inspect a damaged house following a Russian drone attack in the village of Stari Bezradychi, Kyiv region, Ukraine, Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Putin was set to travel Monday to Belarus for talks with its authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, who allowed Russian forces to use Belarusian territory for invading Ukraine and has close defense links with Moscow.

Analysts say the Kremlin might look again for some kind of Belarusian military support for its Ukraine operations. But the winter weather and Russia’s depleted resources mean any attack probably won’t come soon, according to the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War.

“The capacity of the Russian military, even reinforced by elements of the Belarusian armed forces, to prepare and conduct effective large-scale mechanized offensive operations in the next few months remains questionable,” the think tank said in an assessment published Sunday.

It also concluded that “it is unlikely that Lukashenko will commit the Belarusian military (which would also have to be re-equipped) to the invasion of Ukraine.”

 

RELATED

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A premature Palestinian infant, rescued from her mother's womb shortly after the woman was killed in an Israeli airstrike, has died, her uncle said Friday.

Top Stories

Columnists

A pregnant woman was driving in the HOV lane near Dallas.

General News

NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.

Video

Over 100 Pilot Whales Beached on Western Australian Coast Have Been Rescued, Officials Say

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — More than 100 long-finned pilot whales that beached on the western Australian coast Thursday have returned to sea, while 29 died on the shore, officials said.

On Monday, April 22, 2024, history was being written in a Manhattan courtroom.

PARIS - With heavy security set for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games during a time of terrorism, France has asked to use a Greek air defense system as well although talks are said to have been going on for months.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A tiny Philip Morris product called Zyn has been making big headlines, sparking debate about whether new nicotine-based alternatives intended for adults may be catching on with underage teens and adolescents.

Enter your email address to subscribe

Provide your email address to subscribe. For e.g. [email protected]

You may unsubscribe at any time using the link in our newsletter.