Kyiv, Ukraine

At least seven people across Ukraine have been killed in Russia’s latest overnight attacks on Ukraine with missiles and dozens of drones, said Ukrainian officials. Meanwhile, Russia claims to have downed 21 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory. 

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The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on Monday (Jan 29) warned that Ukraine’s gains after nearly two years are in doubt without new funding from the United States amid NATO chief’s visit to lobby Congress. 

Russian attacks across Ukraine kill 7, several injured

A report by Reuters citing local officials, on Monday (Jan 29) said, Russian shelling in northern Ukraine killed four people in two villages in the Sumy region near the Russian border. 

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In Sumy, three people died in a mortar fire in the village of Znov-Novohorodske and a fourth person was killed in another village to the southeast.

A 47-year-old woman in the frontline town of Ukrainian town Avdiivka, which has witnessed a sharp rise in the number of attacks in recent months, was also killed, according to the regional governor. 

ALSO READ | At least 27 killed after Ukraine shells Russian-controlled Donetsk; Moscow calls it ‘barbaric terrorist act’

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The official confirmation came after public broadcaster Suspilne reported that a woman in the Ukrainian city had died after suffering serious injuries in mid-afternoon shelling.

On Tuesday (Jan 30), news agency AFP citing authorities said Russia’s overnight attacks on military and energy infrastructure killed two people. “A 38-year-old man who was riding a bicycle home from work was killed,” said prosecutors in the eastern Donetsk region. 

They added that a 50-year-old woman was also injured and taken to the hospital after the Russian S-300 missile attack. Additionally, Russian shelling overnight had killed one man and wounded his wife in the southern region of Kherson, said the governor, as per AFP.

Meanwhile, a barrage injured two people, and damaged civilian infrastructure in the capital city of Kyiv and the regions of Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv, according to local officials. 

Moscow downs Ukrainian drones

The Russian air defences, according to Moscow’s military, downed 21 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory and the Crimean peninsula. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

Meanwhile, Ukraine said Russian forces had launched two missiles and 35 attack drones across Ukraine, adding that around 20 of those drones were able to bypass their defences. 

“The enemy directed some of the attack UAVs along frontline territories, trying to hit fuel and energy infrastructure, and civilian and military facilities near the front line and the state border with the Russia,” said the Ukrainian air force, in a statement. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that Russia in January alone fired some 330 missiles on Ukraine and carried out attacks with around 600 drones. “We must ensure Ukraine’s control over its skies, which is also critical to ensuring security on the ground,” said the Ukrainian president. 

He also said that he is working with allies to bolster the country’s air defence systems. 

Blinken warns about Ukraine’s gains

During NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg’s visit to Washington, Blinken spoke about the dire consequences of Ukraine’s prospects without US approval of more funding. 

“Without it, simply put, everything that Ukrainians achieved and that we've helped them achieve will be in jeopardy,” said Washington’s top diplomat during a joint news conference with the NATO chief. 

He added, “Absent that supplemental, we're going to be sending a strong and wrong message to all of our adversaries that we are not serious about the defense of freedom, the defense of democracy.” 

ALSO READ | US claims North Korea supplied Russia with missiles for Ukraine attacks

So far, US President Joe Biden’s administration has sent $111 billion to the war-torn country in weapons, equipment, humanitarian assistance and other aid since the beginning of Russia’s invasion. 

Meanwhile, Stoltenberg told US lawmakers on Tuesday that supporting Ukraine was “in our own security interest.” 

He also spoke about how the inaction would “embolden other authoritarian leaders” including that of North Korea, Iran and China “to use force” against other countries. “Today it’s Ukraine; tomorrow it could be Taiwan,” said the NATO chief.

(With inputs from agencies)

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