First Night Of 2023, Ukraine Shoots Fall 45 Drones Launched By Russia

The impact of the Russian attack on Kyiv, Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons/Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kyiv)

JAKARTA - Ukrainians cheered from their balcony while their air defenses blew Russian missiles and drones from the sky in the first hours of 2023.

Ukrainian troops shot down 45 Iranian-made Shahed drones fired by Russia on the first night of this year, President Volodymyr Zelensky said late Sunday, praising Ukraine for showing gratitude to the troops and one another.

"Drones, missiles, others will not help them," he said of Russia.

"Because we are united. They are united only by fear," he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's harsh New Year's speech indicated he would not stop attacking Ukraine, in contrast to President Zelensky's previous message of hope.

The fragments of the late-night attack caused minimal damage to the center of the capital, and preliminary reports showed no injuries or casualties, Mayor Kyiv Vitali Klitschko said on social media.

Earlier attacks on Saturday hit residential buildings and a hotel in the capital, killing at least one person and injuring more than 20 people.

Meanwhile, Andrii Nebytov, chief of police Kyiv, posted a photo on his Telegram messaging app, showing what he described as a drone used in the attack on the capital, with signatures written on it in Russian that read "Happy New Year".

"This collapse is not at the forefront, where fierce fighting occurs, but here, on the sports field, where children play," Nebytov said.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said it had targeted the site of Ukraine's drone production, storage and launch with long-range missiles on New Year's Eve.

The latest airstrikes undermine infrastructure in Sumy, northeast, Khmelnytskyi in the west as well as Zaporizhia and Kherson in the southeast and south, the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff said.

Di Orikhiv di wilayah Zaporizhia, penembakan menembunuh satu orang dan melukai tiga orang, kata gubernur daerah Oleksandr Starukh di Telegram.

Network operator Ukrenergo said the previous day was "difficult" but the electric situation was "controlled" and an emergency blackout was not implemented.

Separately, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine manusia said on Twitter: "Russia coldly and cowardly attacked Ukraine in the early hours of the morning. But Putin still doesn't seem to understand that Ukrainians are made of iron."

Russia has leveled Ukraine's cities and killed thousands of civilians since Putin ordered an invasion in February, claiming Ukraine is an artificial country whose pro-Western views threaten Russia's security. Moscow has since claimed to have annexed about a fifth of Ukraine.

Ukraine has fought back with Western military support, expelling Russian troops from more than half of the territory they are fighting over. In recent weeks, the frontline has been largely static, with thousands of soldiers dying in intense trench war.

Since October, Russia has launched mass missile and drone attacks against Ukraine's energy infrastructure, making cities dark and cold as winter arrives.

Moscow said the attack was aimed at reducing Ukraine's ability to fight. Instead, Kyiv said they had no military purpose and were meant to hurt civilians, a war crime.