Russia attacks Ukraine with Shaheds: casualties in Kharkiv region, downed drones in Kyiv and Odesa regions

On the evening of December 30, Russian troops launched Shahed attack UAVs against Ukraine. The attack damaged buildings in the Kharkiv city center and killed civilians in a nearby village. Air defense was operating in Odesa and Kyiv regions

The Air Force reported this.

As of 9:30 p.m., there were at least 4 Shahed groups: in Kyiv region, moving westward toward Zhytomyr region; Cherkasy region, heading southwest; Kirovohrad region, heading west; and Odesa region, heading southwest.

Kyiv region

The Kyiv Regional Military Administration reported on air defense operations in the region at 9:19 pm. On the morning of December 31, it was reported that an attack on one of the region's critical infrastructure facilities caused a fire in an open area due to falling debris. It was quickly extinguished. The Regional Military Administration emphasized that there were no hits to residential infrastructure. There were no casualties or injuries.

Kharkiv and region

After midnight, Kharkiv came under attack by the Shaheds, and Zaporizhzhia residents were also urged to take shelter. "Kharkiv is under attack by the Shaheds. There have already been several explosions in the city center. All relevant services are working. Information about the victims is being clarified," Mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote at 1:18 am. According to Terekhov, several residential buildings in the center of Kharkiv were hit. There were fires there. "All relevant services are already working at the scene. Information about the victims is being clarified. All the necessary assistance will be provided to those who live in these houses," the mayor of Kharkiv emphasized.

Later, he posted footage of the nighttime attack by Russian drones. According to Terekhov, buildings in the city center were damaged. "These are not military facilities, but cafes, residential buildings and offices. On the New Year's Eve, the Russians want to intimidate our city, but we will not be afraid - we are invincible and unbreakable," the mayor of Kharkiv emphasized.

Later, the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration head Oleh Syniehubov reported that at 0:14 and 00:34, the Russians shelled the village of Borova, Izium district. The bodies of a woman and 2 men were removed from the rubble of a house. A private household was also damaged.

At the same time, the Kharkiv regional police report that 2 civilians, a 55-year-old woman and a 59-year-old man, were killed in the village of Borova as a result of shelling. Their bodies were taken out from under the rubble of completely destroyed private houses. As for the weapon type, police have preliminarily found that the Russian forces fired at the village from multiple rocket launchers, the Prosecutor General's Office said. Prosecutors have launched a pre-trial investigation into the laws and customs of war violation, combined with premeditated murder (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Odesa region

At night, Russian terrorists attacked Odesa region with attack drones. According to Oleh Kiper, Ukrainian Air Defense Forces head, six Russian Shaheds were shot down over the region. Debris from a downed drone in the coastal area of Odesa district caused a fire in an open area. The fire was quickly extinguished. There was no information about the victims.

Khmelnytskyi and Zaporizhzhia regions were also under attack by the Russian forses on the night of December 31.

On the night of December 31, Russian invaders attacked Ukraine with 49 Shahed attack drones. Ukrainian air defense forces destroyed 21 Russian UAVs

The Ukrainian Air Force reports.

It is noted that the invaders launched the Shaheds from three directions: Cape Chauda in Crimea, the Primorsko-Akhtarsk region and the Kursk region of the Russian Federation.

A total of 49 Russian Shahed-136/131 drones were spotted. The Russians also attacked the city of Kharkiv with six S-300 anti-aircraft-guided missiles.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine emphasized that the Russian forces directed most of the attack drones at the Ukrainian frontline, as well as at civilian, military and infrastructure facilities in the frontline areas, in particular in Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia regions.

In different regions of Ukraine, Ukrainian Defense Forces mobile fire groups, fighter aircraft and Ukrainian Air Force anti-aircraft missile units destroyed 21 Russian Shaheds.