AGL 38.65 Increased By ▲ 1.08 (2.87%)
AIRLINK 132.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.50 (-0.38%)
BOP 5.60 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.71%)
CNERGY 3.85 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (2.12%)
DCL 8.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-1.58%)
DFML 40.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.25 (-0.61%)
DGKC 88.97 Decreased By ▼ -1.19 (-1.32%)
FCCL 35.31 Increased By ▲ 0.23 (0.66%)
FFBL 66.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.08%)
FFL 10.55 Increased By ▲ 0.40 (3.94%)
HUBC 109.60 Increased By ▲ 3.20 (3.01%)
HUMNL 14.66 Increased By ▲ 1.26 (9.4%)
KEL 4.83 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.62%)
KOSM 7.07 Increased By ▲ 0.22 (3.21%)
MLCF 42.60 Increased By ▲ 0.80 (1.91%)
NBP 59.50 Increased By ▲ 0.92 (1.57%)
OGDC 183.92 Increased By ▲ 2.67 (1.47%)
PAEL 25.70 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
PIBTL 5.93 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (1.72%)
PPL 147.99 Decreased By ▼ -0.41 (-0.28%)
PRL 23.50 Increased By ▲ 0.28 (1.21%)
PTC 16.43 Increased By ▲ 1.19 (7.81%)
SEARL 69.21 Increased By ▲ 0.42 (0.61%)
TELE 7.25 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.14%)
TOMCL 36.13 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (0.36%)
TPLP 7.58 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (2.43%)
TREET 14.19 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.35%)
TRG 50.90 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.1%)
UNITY 26.88 Increased By ▲ 0.48 (1.82%)
WTL 1.22 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.83%)
BR100 9,818 Increased By 50.7 (0.52%)
BR30 29,825 Increased By 425.1 (1.45%)
KSE100 92,324 Increased By 386.3 (0.42%)
KSE30 28,806 Increased By 62.4 (0.22%)

KYIV: Ukrainians cheered from their balconies while their air defences blasted Russian missiles and drones out of the sky in the first hours of 2023, as Moscow saw in the new year by attacking civilian targets across Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Air Force command said it had destroyed 45 Iranian-made Shahed drones overnight — 32 of them on Sunday after midnight and 13 late on Saturday. That was on top of 31 missile attacks and 12 air strikes across the country in the past 24 hours.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signalled no let-up to his assault on Ukraine, in a grim and defiant New Year’s speech that contrasted with a hopeful message of gratitude and unity from Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

As sirens blared in Kyiv, some people shouted from their balconies, “Glory to Ukraine! Glory to heroes!” Fragments from the late-night attack caused minimal damage in the capital’s centre, and preliminarily reports indicated there were no wounded or casualties, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on social media. Attacks earlier on Saturday had hit residential buildings and a hotel in the capital, killing at least one person and injuring more than 20.

US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said on Twitter: “Russia coldly and cowardly attacked Ukraine in the early hours of the new year. But Putin still does not seem to understand that Ukrainians are made of iron.” At the front line in Urkaine’s eastern Donetsk Province, troops toasted the new year. Soldier Pavlo Pryzhehodskiy, 27, played a song on guitar he had written at the front after 12 of his comrades were killed in a single night.

“It is sad that instead of meeting friends, celebrating and giving gifts to one another people were forced to seek shelter, some were killed,” he told Reuters. “It is a huge tragedy. It is a huge tragedy that cannot ever be forgiven. That is why the New Year is sad.” In a nearby front line trench, soldier Oleh Zahrodskiy, 49, said he had signed up as a volunteer after his son was called up to fight as a reservist. His son was now in a hospital in the southern city of Dnipro, fighting for his life with a brain injury, while his father manned the front.

“It is very tough now,” he said, holding back tears.

‘HAPPY NEW YEAR’ Andrii Nebytov, chief of Kyiv’s police, posted a photo on his Telegram messaging app, showing what was described as a piece of drone used in an attack on the capital, with a hand-written sign on it in Russian saying “Happy New Year”.

“This wreckage is not at the front, where fierce battles are taking place, this is here, on a sports grounds, where children play,” Nebytov said.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said it had targeted production, storage and launch sites of Ukrainian drones with long range missiles on New Year’s Eve.

Comments

Comments are closed.