December 29 Russian massive air attack on Ukraine results in 55 killed, 171 injured

The aftermath of the massive attack in Ukraine on December 29: 55 killed, 171 injured

Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported, that on Wednesday, January 3, emergency rescue operations in the Shevchenkivskyi district of Kyiv were completed. They had been underway since December 29 after a massive Russian attack. The strike killed 32 people in the capital alone.

In total, as a result of the attack on December 29 in Ukraine:

18 settlements in 10 regions were affected;

171 people were injured;

55 people were killed;  

22 people were rescued. 

A total of 700 rescuers and 145 pieces of equipment were on the ground. During the work, rescuers moved and removed 4,070 cubic meters of destroyed building structures.

Russian troops fired almost all types of missiles against Ukraine

Ukrainian Air Force headquarters reported the attack by Russian UAVs and missiles.

Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said on the United News telethon that Russian troops fired almost all types of missiles at the territory of Ukraine in the morning, except for Kalibr missiles.

According to him, Russia launched Kh-47M2 Kinzhal, ballistic missiles, S-300, cruise missiles, UAVs, Kh-22 or Kh-32. Also, about 18 strategic bombers launched Kh-101/Kh-505.

Attack on the western regions of Ukraine

At about 3:10 a.m., it became known that the Shaheds had reached the western regions of Ukraine. Residents of Lviv, Volyn, Rivne, Ternopil, and Khmelnytsky regions, including Starokonstantyniv, were warned of the threat.

Suspilne TV channel reported explosions in Lviv around 4:45 am. The regional military administration confirmed the air defense operation.

Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said there were 2 explosions. Later he added that according to preliminary information, over 10 Shaheds attacked the Lviv region. As a result, a fire broke out at a critical infrastructure facility in Lviv. 

The head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration, Maksym Kozytskyi, said that according to preliminary information, a residential building in Lviv was hit. There are also victims. "A fire broke out in one of the city's lyceum, probably due to the fall of rocket fragments," he said in a statement.

At 8:50 a.m., more explosions were heard in Lviv.

The Lviv mayor said that as of 9:25 a.m., one person was killed inthe missile attack on Lviv. Also, 8 people were wounded.

Later, the head of the Regional Military Administration said that the number of victims had increased to 15.

According to the Prosecutor General's Office, one of the missiles hit a residential yard. The shock wave damaged neighboring houses, a lyceum, and cars. It has been established that 1 person died as a result of the attack. 15 civilians were wounded, 4 were hospitalized.

The head of the Regional Military Administration summarized that 15 missiles attacked the region in the morning, 10 of which were destroyed by air defense.

A 44-year-old man was killed when a missile hit a high-rise building on Khotkevycha Street in Lviv. 17 people, including one child, were injured. Five people were hospitalized. Most of the victims were injured by shrapnel from the windows that were blown out by the blast wave.

7 residential buildings were heavily damaged, and 11 more were damaged to a lesser extent. Two lyceums and a kindergarten were also damaged.

There were also missile hits to one of the infrastructure facilities in the Drohobych district. No casualties were reported. In Stryi and Lviv districts, missile fragments fell in a field.

Russia's drone and missile attack on Odesa

The Ukrainian Southern Defense Forces reported that a closed building of an infrastructure facility was hit in the Odesa district. Meanwhile, in Odesa, a multi-story building was damaged by the wreckage of a downed drone.

"A fire broke out and was quickly extinguished by the State Emergency Service. No civilian casualties were reported," the military added.

MP Oleksiy Honcharenko reported that Russian troops attacked a high-rise building in Odesa.

Meanwhile, according to the head of the Regional Military Administration, Oleh Kiper, two people were killed in the attack. Also, 15 people were injured, including 2 children - 6 and 8 years old. Two of the injured are in serious condition.

As of 11 am, the death toll in Odesa has risen to 3. The State Emergency Service rescued 23 people from a 17-story residential building, Kiper said. According to him, 17 people have already been reported to be injured. 

As of 12 am, 22 people are known to have been injured, including a pregnant woman, Kiper said. A 26-year-old woman is also in serious condition. In total, 18 people remain in the city's hospitals, while others continue to be treated at home after receiving medical aid.

The Office of the Prosecutor General later reported that the number of wounded had increased to 26. Five law enforcement officers were wounded.

As a result of the attack, 3 missiles hit residential buildings in the city. A private house was destroyed to the ground, a three-story apartment building was critically damaged, and a missile exploded inside a high-rise building in one of the residential complexes, prosecutors added. Large-scale fires have been extinguished. 

Several dozen buildings, including educational institutions, a church, shops, other residential buildings and cars, were damaged by blast waves and missile fragments. 

The State Emergency Service reported that a dead woman was found under the rubble of a 3-story residential building. The body was found while extinguishing a fire caused by the attack. Twenty-three people were evacuated from the three-story building, and four people were injured.

The search for people in a 16-storey residential building, where a Russian strike caused destruction and subsequent fire on the 3rd and 4th floors, continues. Twenty-three people were evacuated from the building, five people were rescued, and six people were injured, including two children. Unfortunately, 2 dead people were found, the rescuers said.

According to the latest information, 4 people were killed in a large-scale attack in Odesa.

On the evening of December 30, Oleh Kiper, the head of the administration, reported another victim of the attack.

"A man died in the hospital, he was 77 years old. The doctors did everything possible. He was seriously injured as a result of an enemy rocket hitting a three-story building in the center of Odesa," he wrote.

Attack on Konotop, Sumy region

Early in the morning on December 29, Russian terrorists launched a missile attack on Konotop, according to the Sumy Regional Military Administration.

The attack injured 3 people, damaged an apartment building and a car service station. A car caught fire.

The Office of the Prosecutor General reported that two civilians were injured.

Missile attack on Kharkiv

After 5 am, Russia launched missiles. The explosions occurred in Kharkiv and near Cherkasy, according to Suspilne.

"Kharkiv is under massive missile attack. At least six explosions were heard in the city," Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.

Later, the head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, Oleh Syniehubov, said that Russian troops had struck the city about 10 times. As of 6:15 am, there were no reports of casualties. Instead, Terekhov said that, according to premilinary information, Russian troops had fired two types of missiles at Kharkiv - S-300 and Kh-22.

"At the moment, we know about at least 8 explosions in the city. Preliminarily, in Kyiv and Kholodnohirskyi districts, but the information is being clarified. There are some problems with the power supply for transport, but our specialists are already working to restore it," he wrote. In addition, at about 7 am, the Russian invading forces attacked Kharkiv with missiles for the second time this morning. According to the mayor, there were 4 explosions in the city.

Volodymyr Tymoshko, the head of the National Police in the Kharkiv region, said that a Russian missile damaged a hospital building in the Kyiv district. 

According to the regional military head, as of the morning, one person was killed as a result of the Russian strikes on Kharkiv, a man of about 35 years old. Eight people were wounded, medics are providing assistance on the spot. Damage to the city's civilian infrastructure was also recorded: a medical facility, warehouses, and civilian enterprises.

Mayor Terekhov said in on the United News telethon that 22 hits were recorded in Kharkiv. According to him, hospitals, schools, residential buildings, Nova Poshta offices, and manufacturing plants were damaged. Employees of the State Emergency Service are clearing the rubble.

"As a result of two waves of enemy strikes, destruction and damage to warehouse and industrial buildings, a transport depot, and an enterprise were recorded," Syniehubov wrote, adding that the number of victims of the attack had risen to 11.

As of 11:50 am, three men have been reported killed, all of whom were employees of a civilian enterprise. Another 13 were wounded, the Office of the Prosecutor General informed.

Explosions in Dnipro

An explosion occurred in Dnipro around 7 am, Suspilne reports. The Air Force reported the launch of ballistic missiles.

Later, Suspilne reported repeated explosions in Dnipro.

A shopping center in the city is on fire as a result of a missile attack on Dnipro.

Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov reported regarding the injured and dead: "All local services are fully alert and are working together with the State Emergency Service under the leadership of the Civil-Military Administration."

In addition, a maternity hospital in Dnipro was damaged by a missile strike. In particular, windows were shattered in the building of the medical institution, Suspilne reports. This information was also confirmed by journalist Denys Kazanskyi and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

The head of the Regional Military Administration also said that a maternity hospital was damaged, but according to the Ministry of Health, no people were injured there.

"It's a tragic morning for the region. The enemy attacked with missiles. Preliminary, almost a dozen people were injured. Four of them were killed. In Dnipro a shopping center was struck. A fire broke out," he wrote.

Later, the head said that the number of victims had increased to 20. Also, 5 people died. There may be people trapped under the rubble.

As of 12 am, the number of victims of the massive attack in Dnipro increased to 25. Serhiy Korinnyi, deputy head of the Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service for Emergency Response, reported the information, according to Suspilne.

"The difficulty was that we received reports from four locations at once that there were hits and fires at different addresses. Having received information that there was a fire on the territory of the maternity hospital, we immediately sent forces and means there. In total, we have four fire centers, ranging from 100 to 400 square meters," he said.

The rescuer also noted that the two women who were searched for by the rescuers got in touch. They are fine.

At 1:31 pm, the head of the Regional Military Administration reported that a total of 18 missiles had been shot down by the Eastern military group in the sky over the Dnipropetrovsk region.

As a result of the attack on Dnipro city, the death toll has already risen to 6 people, and the number of injured has reached 28, including a 1.5-year-old child. 

In addition to a shopping center and a maternity hospital, one private house was destroyed, 8 administrative buildings, at least two dozen high-rise buildings and cars were damaged, Lysak noted.

He also added that there were hits in Novomoskovsk, Dnipropetrovsk region, where two people were injured. 13 private houses were damaged.

Danylo Miro, a deputy of the Dnipro City Council, said on Espreso that there are 6 dead and 30 wounded - 20 of them are receiving medical help in hospitals.

As of the morning of December 31, the number of dead as a result of the Russian attack on Dnipro increased to 7. According to the head of the military administration, one more victim - a 45-year-old man - died in the hospital. Doctors fought for him until the end.

Lysak added that currently 18 patients remain in hospitals, including a one-and-a-half-year-old boy. Most of the injured are in moderate condition, but two are seriously injured.

Strike on Zaporizhzhia

At 7:27 am, Suspilne reported explosions in Zaporizhzhia. At 8:25 am, repeated explosions were heard in the city.

As of 9:00 am, there are 10 victims in the city, two of them in serious condition. People are still trapped under the rubble of one of the buildings, the Ministry of Health reports.

Meanwhile, the head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, Yuriy Malashko, said that Russia attacked the territories of several enterprises in the city. One of the missiles hit an open area, another destroyed a private house. The blast wave and debris damaged high-rise buildings in one of the districts of Zaporizhzhia.

As of 5:35 p.m., there are 8 dead and 13 injured. Work continues at the sites where Russian missiles hit. Two communal buses are operating and two tents of the city council are deployed, where employees of district administrations and social services are consulting people.

Air defense operation in Kyiv

Around 07:30, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko reported explosions in the capital and the activation of air defense. The Russian air assault on Kyiv lasted approximately an hour.

Debris fell in the Sviatoshynskyi district, and Klitschko also mentioned warehouse fires in the Podilsky district, with reports of damage in the Darnytskyi district.

The Lukyanivska metro station building suffered damage, serving as a shelter during the attack. Subway service resumed around 10 a.m. Thousands sought refuge in metro stations during the morning rocket assault, with over 2,500 during nighttime alarms.

A warehouse collapsed in the Shevchenkivskyi district, prompting a search and rescue operation. A 3,000 m2 warehouse caught fire in the Podilsky district.

Another incident involved a fire in an unoccupied multi-storey residential building in the Sviatoshynskyi district, and three parked cars caught fire at a separate location. Both fires were extinguished, with one reported injury.

A residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district suffered damage, and fires were reported in warehouse areas.

"In the latest attack, the capital faced several dozen missiles of various types, hitting from different directions. Despite the air defense intercepting over three dozen targets, the massive missile assault resulted in destruction and casualties," stated Kyiv city military administration.

As of 6:12 p.m., nine fatalities and 30 injuries were confirmed. Search and rescue efforts continue.

On December 30, Klitschko reported 13 casualties from the December 29 attack. Four more victims were recovered from the Shevchenkivskyi district warehouse, with 32 injuries, 17 in the capital's hospitals.

Later updates revealed two more casualties, bringing the total to 16. The State Emergency Service reported unblocking 17 bodies and rescuing eight from the rubble.

Subsequently, the administration announced two more casualties, one found in Shevchenkivskyi district. The toll from the December 29 attack stands at 19, with the search and rescue operation ongoing.

Kyiv region

According to the Prosecutor General's Office, a civilian was injured in the Kyiv region and received medical assistance. 

In several areas, debris fell on private homes. This led to fires. Cars and power lines were damaged.

Khmelnytskyi region

Two Russian cruise missiles were downed within the region.

"In several communities of the region, more than 10 private homes, a kindergarten, a cultural center, and a library were damaged. No one was injured or killed," the Khmelnytskyi regional military administration said in a statement.

At night, the Air Defense Forces targeted Shahed drones in the region.