Russia launches barrage of missiles on Ukraine, kills four and injures dozens

Russia on Tuesday (Jan 2) launched a barrage ofmissiles on the Ukrainian capital as well as other cities in which four people were killed and more than 27 others were injuredas strikes damaged high-rise buildings and caused fires.

"One wounded elderly woman from a building in the Solomyansky district... died in an ambulance. Twenty-seven wounded people were hospitalised," said Kyiv mayor Vitaly Klitschko. In the Kyiv region, two others were killed and one person was killed in the eastern city of Kharkiv, as per theregional authorities.

Barrages of loud explosions were heard in Ukraine's capital city Kyiv after Ukraine's air force earlier said that multiple missiles were flying towards the capital city. This happened shortly afternationwide air alerts were raised in Ukraine due to a threat from Russian bombers.

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The city's military administration said that many fragments of downed rockets were seen on the roads of various districts which included residential buildings. It was reported that Russia launched Kinzhal missiles. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that power supply was not available in several areas of the capital as250,000 consumers were left in darkness.

Ukraine's national Ukrenergo energy company said, "250.000 consumers were without electricity in Kyiv and its region following Russian strikes."

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said that explosions occurred and the capital was on fire nearly an hour after the military administration of the region said that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones were detected in the airspace of the city.

Air alerts in Ukraine

Air alerts were raised by Ukraine's military on Tuesday (Jan 2) as they warned about a threat of Russian missile strikes.

"Missile danger in areas where the air alert is on! The threat of launching cruise missiles from Tu-95MS aircraft. A total of 16 Tu-95MS strategic bombers are in the air," said the Air Force on Telegram.

Ukraine's air force said numerous missiles were flying towards the capital city shortly after nationwide air alerts were raised because of a threat from Russian bombers. "Kyiv - stay in shelters. Many missiles heading in your direction," said the air forceon Telegram.

Hours before, the military had issued a warning regarding the 20 Russian strategic bombers which were airborne. Taking to Telegram, military officials said that after takeoffs were detected from the far northern Olenya airfield and southern Engels airbase, multiple Tupolev Tu-95MS bombers were present in Russia's airspace.

Meanwhile, another four Tu-22M3 bombers took off from Shaikovka airfield in Russia which is near the Belarus border.

On December 29, Russialaunched multiple strikes across Ukrainian cities, including the capital, in which 39 people were killed.

Kyiv under Russia's drone attack: Ukraine

Russia launched a drone attack on Kyiv in the early hours of Monday (Jan 1), Ukrainian officials said, as the downed drone debris sparked a fire at a residential building in one of the districts of the capital city.

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Taking to the Telegram messaging app, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that loud explosions were heard in the city which occurred as air defence systems repelled the attack. He added that the fire was sparked by Desnianskyi district by falling off drone debris.

Head of Kyiv's military administration Serhiy Popko said that they also dispatched the emergency services to Holosiivskyi district along the west bank of the Dnipro.

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

(With inputs from agencies)