Ukraine war: Russia hits Ukraine with new wave of air strikes - BBC

EPA

By George Wright

BBC News

Ukraine has come under attack by Russian air strikes again, officials say, after two days of major aerial assaults by both sides.

Most attacks were concentrated on the south and east, but explosions were also reported in Kyiv.

Moscow has been retaliating against Ukrainian strikes on the Russian border city of Belgorod on Saturday, which killed at least 24 people.

That came after Russia carried out air strikes across Ukraine on Friday.

Kyiv said those attacks, which killed at least 41 people, were the biggest missile bombardment of the war so far.

The latest Russian strikes happened as Ukraine entered its final day of 2023.

On Sunday, Ukraine's air force reported it had destroyed 21 of 49 Russian drones launched overnight, with most attacks aimed at the Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Ukraine's air defence systems in the region surrounding the capital Kyiv were also engaged late on Saturday to repel a Russian drone attack, the military administration of the region said on Telegram.

The regional governor of Kharkiv said that 28 people had been hurt after at least six missiles hit the city near the border with Russia overnight.

Ukraine's interior ministry also reported damage to 12 blocks of flats, 13 homes, hospitals, a hotel building, a kindergarten, commercial premises, a gas pipeline and cars.

"These are not military facilities, but cafes, residential buildings and offices," Kharkiv's mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram.

"On the eve of the New Year, the Russians want to intimidate our city, but we are not scared - we are unbreakable and invincible."

In the southern region of Kherson, the governor also reported two people killed by Russian shelling.

• Russian attack on Ukraine cities hits deadly new level
• What do we know about drone attacks on Russia?

The latest attacks come after a deadly couple of days in Ukraine and Russia.

Russia's massive bombardment of Ukraine on Friday killed dozens and injured nearly 160. Several cities were attacked, including the capital, Kyiv.

The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, said two more bodies were recovered from the rubble of a warehouse that was hit by an air strike - taking the total number of people killed in air strikes on the city to 18 and the overall death toll across Ukraine from Friday's attacks to at least 41.

Mr Klitschko has said that Friday was the deadliest day so far for civilians in the city.

Saturday saw Ukrainian attacks on south-west Russia, near the border with Ukraine, which a Ukrainian security source told the BBC was a "response to Russia's terrorist attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilians".

The regional governor for Belgorod said on Sunday that 24 people were now known to have died in the attack.

Vyacheslav Gladkov says four children were among the dead in what was one of the deadliest attacks on Russia since it invaded Ukraine.

More than 100 people were also injured in the attacks on Belgorod city, the region's administrative capital near the border.

The Ukrainian security source said more than 70 drones had been launched against Russian targets.

Addressing the situation in Belgorod, they blamed civilian casualties on the "incompetent work of Russian air defence" - saying this was what caused falling fragments.

Moscow has repeatedly accused Ukraine of being behind drone strikes in recent months. Kyiv rarely admits to such attacks across the border, although it has carried out strikes like this before.

At a UN Security Council meeting requested by Russia to discuss Kyiv's strikes on Saturday, several countries stressed that Russia was paying the price for invading Ukraine and starting the war.

"If Russia wants someone to blame for the deaths of Russians in this war, it should start with President Putin," the British envoy to the UN Thomas Phipps said.

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Related Topics

• War in Ukraine
• Kyiv
• Russia
• Ukraine

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2023-12-31 07:32:11Z
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Missile hits Red Sea container ship, US destroyers shoot down two more - The Guardian

An American destroyer shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired from Yemen on Saturday as it responded to a call for help from a container ship that was hit separately, the US Central Command (Centcom) said.

Centcom said the US destroyers Gravely and Laboon responded to a request for assistance from the Maersk Hangzhou, a Singapore-flagged, Denmark-owned and operated container ship that reported being struck by a missile while transiting the Red Sea.

While responding, missiles were launched towards the ships from territory controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, Centcom said.

The Gravely shot down the missiles, Centcom said, describing it as the “23rd illegal attack by the Houthis on international shipping” since 19 November.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organisation said it received a report of an incident in the Red Sea about 55 nautical miles south-west of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah. The master of an unidentified ship reported “a loud bang accompanied by a flash on the port bow of the vessel” and several explosions in the area. No damage was reported and all crew were reported to be safe. The vessel had cleared the area at full speed to the next port of call.

The Houthis have targeted vessels in the vital Red Sea shipping lane with strikes they say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is waging war to root out the militant group Hamas.

Several shipping lines have suspended operations through the Red Sea in response to the attacks, instead taking the longer journey around Africa.

The Yemeni rebels have said they are targeting Israel and Israeli-linked vessels. The US set up a multinational naval taskforce to protect the Red Sea transit route, which carries up to 12% of global trade.

With Agence France-Presse and Reuters

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2023-12-31 09:13:00Z
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Ukraine war: Russia launches fresh drone assault on Kyiv and Kharkiv, officials say - BBC

EPA

By George Wright

BBC News

Ukraine is again under attack by Russian drones, officials say, after two days of major aerial assaults by both sides.

There are reports of explosions in Kyiv and Kharkiv, where the mayor said residential buildings were on fire.

Moscow has been retaliating against Ukrainian strikes on the Russian border city of Belgorod on Saturday, which killed at least 20 people.

That came after Russia carried out strikes across Ukraine on Friday.

Those strikes, which killed 39 people, were described by Kyiv as Russia's biggest missile bombardment of the war so far.

The latest attacks happened as Ukraine entered its final day of 2023.

Ukraine's air defence systems in the region surrounding the capital Kyiv were engaged late on Saturday to repel a Russian drone attack, the military administration of the region said on Telegram.

Drone attacks have been reported in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram.

"These are not military facilities, but cafes, residential buildings and offices," he said.

"On the eve of the New Year, the Russians want to intimidate our city, but we are not scared - we are unbreakable and invincible."

The extent of the damage is not clear and no casualties have been reported yet.

Earlier on Saturday, Russian strikes injured 19 in Kharkiv, the local government reported.

• Russian attack on Ukraine cities hits deadly new level
• What do we know about drone attacks on Russia?

The latest attacks come after a deadly couple of days in Ukraine and Russia.

Russia's massive bombardment of Ukraine on Friday killed 39 people and injured nearly 160, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. Several cities were hit, including the capital, Kyiv.

The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitchsko, said at least 16 people were killed in the city - making Friday the deadliest day so far for civilians in the capital.

This was followed by Ukrainian attacks on Russia.

Moscow accused Ukraine of deadly air strikes on the south-west of the country - with 20 people killed and more than 100 injured in Belgorod, near the border.

The regional governor said three children were among the dead in what was one of the deadliest attacks on Russia since it invaded Ukraine.

Speaking to the BBC, the Ukrainian security source said more than 70 drones had been launched against Russian targets, as a "response to Russia's terrorist attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilians".

Addressing the situation in Belgorod, they blamed the "incompetent work of Russian air defence" for civilian casualties - saying this was what caused falling fragments.

Moscow has repeatedly accused Ukraine of being behind drone strikes in recent months. Kyiv rarely admits to such attacks across the border, although it has carried out strikes like this before.

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• War in Ukraine
• Kyiv
• Russia
• Ukraine

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2023-12-31 03:37:51Z
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Venice to ban large tourist groups and loudspeakers - BBC

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By George Wright

BBC News

Venice is to ban loudspeakers and tourist groups of more than 25 people, in a bid to ease the impact of mass tourism on the Italian city.

The new rules will come into effect from June, the city said in a statement.

The use of loudspeakers have been banned as they can "generate confusion and disturbances", it added.

Over-tourism is widely recognised as an urgent issue for the canal city, one of the most visited places in Europe.

In September, Venice approved the trial of a €5 (£4.30; $5.35) fee for daily visitors.

Elisabetta Pesce, the official with responsibility for the city's security, said the latest policies are "aimed at improving the management of groups organised in the historic centre".

The city is just 7.6 sq km (2.7 sq miles) in size but it hosted almost 13 million tourists in 2019, according to the Italian national statistics institute. Numbers of visitors are expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels in the coming years.

Earlier this year Unesco said the city should be added to a list of world heritage sites in danger, as the impact of climate change and mass tourism threaten to cause irreversible changes to it.

In 2021, large cruise ships were banned from entering the historic centre of Venice via the Giudecca canal after a ship crashed into a harbour. Critics had also argued that the ships were causing pollution and eroding the foundations of the city, which suffers from regular flooding.

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Fierce fighting in south Gaza as Israel says it destroyed Hamas HQ - Euronews

The latest developments from the Israel Hamas war.

Fierce fighting in Gaza

Intense fighting has been reported between Israeli forces and Hamas militants on Saturday. 

Israel is concentrating its military offensive on southern Gaza, particularly around the city of Khan Younis. But it is also conducting operations elsewhere. 

In Gaza City, the Israeli Defense Force wrote on X it "eliminated dozens of terrorists" and that "battles took place where further terrorists were eliminated." 

On Friday, Israel's Defence Ministry claimed its troops had successfully located and demolished a hideout apartment belonging to Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip. 

A UN official claimed Israeli troops had opened fire on an aid convoy returning from northern Gaza, damaging a vehicle.

Violence is also spilling into the wider region. 

Israeli strikes targeted the Damascus airport and Syrian military sites late Thursday and early Friday, causing material losses, according to Syrian sources. 

Israel has launched numerous strikes in government-controlled Syria, often targeting Iran-backed groups supporting President Bashar Assad, although Israel rarely acknowledges these actions.

South Africa accuses Israel of genocide

South Africa has initiated a case at the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and requesting an immediate suspension of Israeli military operations. 

Israel vehemently rejected these allegations, calling them 'blood libel' and asserting the case's lack of legal or factual basis. 

Israel also accused South Africa of cooperating with Hamas, linking it to the cross-border attack that triggered the ongoing conflict.

Other legal cases have been launched against parties involved in the Israel Hamas war. 

In December, rights groups took the UK government to court over its arms exports to Israel amid the catastrophic war in Gaza.

Supported by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq and UK-based Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) want London to immediately suspend lucrative weapons sales to Israel, claiming there is a "clear risk" they are being used in war crimes.

Gaza civilians devastated by humanitarian crisis

Mercy Corps has warned of famine and disease in Gaza, attributing the crisis to relentless fighting and insufficient humanitarian aid. 

The organisation claims that aid deliveries to the besieged Palestinian enclave are inadequate, with half a million people facing "catastrophic hunger and starvation."

Meanwhile, UNICEF has delivered at least 600,000 vaccine doses to Gaza to address the escalating health crisis. 

A lack of clean water and basic medical supplies in the territory has contributed to the spread of illnesses. 

More than 16,800 infants have missed routine vaccines, and UNICEF, along with WHO and UNRWA, is working to administer the arriving vaccines. 

Tens of thousands of vaccines for diseases like polio, tuberculosis, measles, and hepatitis have been confirmed by Israeli officials in coordination with UNICEF.

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2023-12-30 09:42:15Z
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Ukraine launches attacks on Russian border regions after Putin's 'barbaric' air raid - The Independent

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Ukraine has carried out a major air offensive on Russia’s border regions, a day after Moscow launched its biggest wave of airstrikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions since the war began.

The Ukrainian armed forces posted a video on Telegram depicting the sky above Belgorod, showing at least one building on fire.

Belgorod’s governor said at least one person was killed and 10 homes were damaged, while the water supply to the city of Belgorod was disrupted. Russia’s defence ministry said 13 Ukrainian rockets were intercepted.

In the neighbouring Bryansk region, the governor said six Ukrainian drones were downed, and that there were no casualties.

Ukraine’s military did not immediately comment on the impact of the attacks.

A shopping centre was heavily damaged in Ukraine after Russia’s attack

(via REUTERS)

The attacks follow the deaths of 31 people in Ukraine, marking what Kyiv described as the biggest day of airstrikes since the war began.

The 18-hour onslaught left more than 144 people injured, with an unknown number buried under rubble, officials reported. Among the damaged buildings were a maternity hospital, apartment blocks, and schools.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia used every sort of weapon it had to launch the biggest aerial bombardment of the war, including 158 drones and hypersonic, ballistic and cruise missiles.

At least 31 killed after Russia launched wave of strikes across Ukraine

The intensified attacks from Russia have once again been strongly condemned by the international community.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres condemned Russia’s attack “in the strongest terms”, saying attacks on civilians must end immediately.

Within hours, the UK announced the dispatch of hundreds of defence missiles to Kyiv, with ministers condemning Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “barbarity”.

US president Joe Biden said the 18-hour bombardment underscored that the Russian president “must be stopped”.

Meanwhile, a Polish general reported that a Russian missile appeared to have entered the airspace of the Nato member after an unidentified aerial object was spotted during the Russian attacks on Ukraine.

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2023-12-30 05:35:48Z
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Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 675 - The Guardian

• Russia launched a huge wave of missile strikes on Ukrainian cities, including the capital, in what Ukraine’s defence minister called the biggest air attack of the war. At least 30 civilians were killed and 160 injured in the strikes on residential buildings in Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv and other cities in the west and south on Friday morning. A shopping centre and maternity hospital were hit in the central city of Dnipro, Ukrainian officials said. In Odesa, three people were killed and another 26 injured, including two children and a pregnant woman, when three rockets hit residential buildings. Rescue operations were continuing in the cities.

• The Ukrainian air force said it shot down 87 cruise missiles and 27 drones of a total 158 aerial “targets” fired by Russia. Kyiv’s defence minister, Rustem Umerov, said it was the “most massive air attack of this war”, which began in February 2022, and involved 18 strategic bombers. The army chief, Gen Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said infrastructure and industrial and military facilities had been targeted.

• Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia launched about 110 missiles in the attack. “Today, Russia used nearly every type of weapon in its arsenal,” the Ukrainian president said on social media. “Russian terror must and will lose.”

• Poland’s armed forces said an unknown airborne object, which they identified as a Russian missile, entered the country’s airspace from the direction of Ukraine for less than three minutes. “It was monitored by us on radars and left the airspace,” said Poland’s defence chief, Gen Wiesław Kukuła. The object penetrated about 40km (25 miles), Poland said, adding that Nato radar also confirmed the object left Polish airspace. The Russian charge d’affaires, summoned to the Polish foreign ministry, said Warsaw had provided no evidence of a missile entering its airspace.

• At a hastily convened meeting of the UN security council, most council members – including the US, France and Britain – condemned the attacks. “Tragically, 2023 is ending as it began, with devastating violence against the people of Ukraine,” UN assistant secretary general Khaled Khiari said after briefing the council on the attacks.

• Britain will send about 200 air-defence missiles to Ukraine after the Russian strikes, the UK defence minister said on Friday. Grant Shapps posted on X (formerly Twitter) that Britain was “moving rapidly to bolster Ukraine’s air defence in the wake of Putin’s murderous airstrikes”. The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, said on social media: “These widespread attacks on Ukraine’s cities show Putin will stop at nothing to achieve his aim of eradicating freedom and democracy.”

• A Ukrainian strike on a residential building in the Russian city of Belgorod left one person dead, the regional governor said late on Friday. The attack killed one person and wounded four others, Vyacheslav Gladkov said, adding that the city’s water supply system was damaged. The Russian defence ministry said air defence systems destroyed a total of 13 missiles over the region, which borders Ukraine.

• The US president, Joe Biden, demanded Congress “step up” and overcome divisions on sending aid to Ukraine, saying the massive Russian air attack demonstrated that the Kremlin hoped to “obliterate” the pro-western country. Biden said in a statement: “Unless Congress takes urgent action in the new year, we will not be able to continue sending the weapons and vital air defense systems Ukraine needs to protect its people. Congress must step up and act without any further delay.”

• Ukrainian officials urged the country’s western allies to provide it with more air defences to protect itself against aerial attacks such as Friday’s. Their appeals have come as signs of war fatigue strain efforts to keep support in place.

• Russia has suffered huge human and material losses in Ukraine and its army will emerge weakened from the conflict, a senior German military figure said in an interview published on Friday. Christian Freuding, who oversees the German army’s support for Kyiv, said: “The Russian armed forces will emerge from this war weakened, both materially and in terms of personnel.”

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2023-12-30 02:11:00Z
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