Russia-Ukraine updates: Moscow’s New Year raids kill 4
All the updates from January 1 as they happened.
This blog is now closed, thanks for joining us. These were the updates on the Russia-Ukraine war on Sunday, January 1.
This blog is now closed, thanks for joining us. These were the updates on the Russia-Ukraine war on Sunday, January 1.
- Ukraine has shot down 45 Russian drones overnight as the country rang in the New Year, the air force said on Sunday.
- Missile and Iranian-made drone attacks on Kyiv and other cities have killed three people, and one died on Sunday in the southern region of Zaporizhia.
- The leaders of warring Ukraine and Russia have promised victory for their respective nations in their New Year speeches, talking about gratitude, pain and duty.
- Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, recalling some of the war’s most dramatic moments and victories, has filled his emotional 17-minute video message with footage of Russia’s attacks on the country and words of pride for Ukrainians withstanding attacks, darkness and cold.
- President Vladimir Putin has thanked Russian troops in his speech, saying the West was intent on “destroying Russia”, but he would never allow it to happen.
- Numerous blasts have been heard in Kyiv and other places around Ukraine, and air raid sirens wailed across the country shortly after midnight.
Russia’s New Year raids on Ukraine kill four, wound dozens
Russia’s New Year assaults on Ukraine have left four people dead and wounded dozens this weekend as Moscow claimed to have thwarted Kyiv’s “terror attacks” on the homeland.
The Ukrainian capital and other cities came under fire from missiles and Iranian-made drones on Saturday, killing three people.
At least one drone had the Russian words “Happy New Year” scrawled on it in red, according to a picture released by Ukrainian authorities.
A new attack on Sunday killed one person in the southern region of Zaporizhia and wounded another three, authorities said.
Turkish, Ukrainian officials discuss implementation of grain deal
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met with Ukrainian First Vice Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko in Brazil and discussed the implementation of the Black Sea grain deal.
“We discussed our humanitarian aid and the Istanbul Grain Agreement,” Cavusoglu said on Twitter.
2023’teki ilk ikili görüşmemizi #Brezilya’da #Ukrayna Başbakan Yardımcısı ile gerçekleştirdik. İnsani yardımlarımızı ve İstanbul Tahıl Anlaşması’nı ele aldık.
Discussed our humanitarian aid & implementation of İstanbul Grain Deal w/ Yuliia Svyrydenko, Vice PM of #Ukraine. 🇹🇷🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/RIV4d7AwHN
— Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (@MevlutCavusoglu) January 1, 2023
The Turkish foreign minister is currently in Brazil to attend the inauguration ceremony of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the nation’s president-elect.
In July, Turkey, the United Nations, Russia, and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports that were blockaded by Russia when the war began in February.
The first ship carrying grain departed on August 1 from the Ukrainian port of Odesa under the historic deal.
Zelenskyy: Our unity contrasts with Russian fear
Ukraine’s unity and sense of purpose contrast sharply with the fear that prevails throughout Russia, President Zelenskyy said.
“The feeling we all have of unity, of authenticity, of life itself, contrasts sharply with the fear that prevails in Russia,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.
“They are afraid. You can feel it. And they are right to be afraid. Because they will lose. Drones, missiles, everything else will not help them. Because we stand united. They are united only by fear.”
Zelenskyy aide: Russia wants ‘to kill as many civilians as possible’
Russia’s wave of drone attacks on Ukrainian cities at the turn of the year signalled that “Russia no longer has any military goals,” a top official in Kyiv has said.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wrote on Twitter that Moscow has switched strategy after 10 months of grinding war on its neighbour.
“Mass shelling of the centres of large cities of [Ukraine] on the night of Dec 31 to Jan 1 speaks of another change in the type of war,” he wrote.
“Russia no longer has any military goals & is trying to kill as many civilians as possible and destroy more civilian facilities. A war to kill.”
Massive shelling of the downtown areas of large cities of 🇺🇦 on the night of Dec 31 to Jan 1 speaks of another change in the type of war.
Russia no longer has any military goals & is trying to kill as many civilians as possible and destroy more civilian facilities. A war to kill.— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) January 1, 2023
Western allies must be ready for long-term support to Ukraine: NATO chief
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says that Western allies must be ready to provide long-term support to Ukraine.
Stoltenberg told the BBC that military support would ensure the survival of Ukraine as a sovereign country.
“The Ukrainian forces had the momentum for several months, but we also know that Russia has mobilised many more forces, many of them are now training,” Stoltenberg said.
“All that indicates that they are prepared to continue the war and also try to potentially launch a new offensive,” he added.
Earlier, the General Staff of Ukraine said in a statement that Russian forces carried out air raids in various parts of the country on Saturday and on Sunday morning.
Ukraine says it has inflicted heavy losses on Russians in Bakhmut
The Ukrainian military claims to have inflicted heavy losses on Russia troops in Bakhmut, the small city in eastern Ukraine that has been the scene of fierce battles for months.
About 170 Russian soldiers were killed in fighting for control of the bombed-out city on Saturday, the spokesman for the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces, Serhiy Cherevaty, said.
Cherevaty described it as an “assembly line of death” for the Russian occupiers and said at least 200 more Russians were wounded.
Moscow has not commented, and battlefield accounts in the 10-month-old war are often impossible to immediately confirm.
Moscow says New Year attacks targeted Ukraine drone production
Moscow said its New Year attacks on Ukraine targeted the pro-Western country’s drone production, claiming it had managed to scupper Kyiv’s “terror attacks” against Russia.
Russia’s defence ministry said a raid hit “the facilities of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine” which is involved in the production of drones, and that the “plans of the Kyiv regime to carry out terrorist attacks against Russia in the near future have been thwarted”.
Grim start to 2023 for Ukraine
For Ukrainians, 2023 has already begun on a grim note, as the death toll from Russia’s massive New Year’s Eve assault across the country climbed to at least three.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, said that two people died in Kyiv and the southern region of Kherson and 50 were injured as a result of the Russian attacks.
Meanwhile, a 22-year-old woman injured in a rocket attack in eastern Khmelnytskyi later died of her wounds, the city’s Mayor Oleksandr Symchyshyn said.
German ban on Russian oil deliveries comes in force
Germany’s import ban on oil from Russian pipelines is in force now as Berlin speeds up its effort to wean itself off Moscow’s exports due to the war in Ukraine.
An EU embargo on Russian crude oil transported by sea has been in place since December 5, but an exception was made for oil transported by pipeline.
However, Germany and Poland pledged to avoid making use of these exceptions and to halt the use of oil coming through the Druzhba pipeline as of January 1.
Sweden assuming EU presidency role crucial to supporting Ukraine: Von der Leyen
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has said Sweden taking over the presidency of the Council of the EU will be crucial to the bloc’s ongoing support of Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.
“Your leadership will be crucial to preserve our unity in support of Ukraine,” she tweeted.
Sweden takes over the presidency from the Czech Republic on Sunday, giving the Scandinavian country a key leadership and mediating role in Brussels over the next six months.
In a statement on his website, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson cited the Ukraine war, the battle against climate change and European competitiveness as key issues that need to be tackled.
🇸🇪 Sweden is assuming the Council presidency at a crucial time.
Dear @SwedishPM, your leadership will be crucial to preserve our 🇪🇺 unity in support of Ukraine.
You can count on me to take forward your ambitious agenda for our Union.Lycka till @sweden2023eu ! pic.twitter.com/mKClO65Hoh
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) January 1, 2023
Sabalenka criticises Wimbledon’s ban on Russia and Belarus players
Wimbledon’s ban on Russian and Belarusian players last year was unjust and changed nothing regarding the war in Ukraine, Belarusian player Aryna Sabalenka has said.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) barred players from both countries from appearing at SW19 – a decision that saw the organisation fined by the ATP last month.
“This is really terrible because no one supports war – no one,” Sabalenka told Australian paper The Age. “I’m just really disappointed sport is somehow in politics.”
“We’re just athletes playing their sport. That’s it. We’re not about politics. If all of us could do something [about the war], we would do it. But we have zero control,” she added.
German intelligence says activity by Russian secret services growing
The Russian intelligence services’ interest in Germany continues to increase the longer the war in Ukraine lasts, according to Germany’s domestic intelligence service.
The head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang, also counts China and Iran among the states whose intelligence services are active in Germany.
“Russia’s intelligence interest here in Germany is not only unbroken, but is also increasing as the effects of the war continue,” Haldenwang said in an interview with dpa news agency.
“The current case also shows how real the danger of Russian espionage is,” Haldenwang said, referring to a suspected double agent at the BND foreign intelligence agency who was arrested shortly before Christmas.
Ukraine air defences repelled 45 Russian drone attacks: Military
Russia attacked Ukraine with a total of 45 drones overnight, the Ukrainian military reported on Sunday.
All the Iranian-made Shahed-136 combat drones – the so-called “kamikaze” drones – were destroyed by Ukrainian air defences, the armed forces said.
Russia also fired 20 missiles at targets in neighbouring Ukraine on New Year’s Eve, the Ukrainian military added.
Al Jazeera could not independently verify the military’s claims.
Macron promises to help Ukrainians ‘until victory’
France will stand by Ukraine until its victory, French President Emmanuel Macron has said in a televised New Year’s speech.
“During the coming year, we will be unfailingly at your side,” Macron said.
“We will help you until victory and we will be together to build a just and lasting peace. Count on France and count on Europe.”
Homes, streets destroyed in Ukraine capital
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 312
As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 312th day, we take a look at the main developments.
Read more here.
US condemns Russia’s New Year attacks
United States Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink has condemned Russian attacks on Ukraine in the early hours of Sunday as “cowardly”.
“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,” she posted on Twitter.
Beyond belief. 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. America is absolutely confident Ukraine will prevail in 2023. Slava Ukraini!
— Ambassador Bridget A. Brink (@USAmbKyiv) January 1, 2023
Blasts rock Kyiv in early hours of New Year’s Day
Numerous explosions rocked the Ukrainian capital minutes after midnight on New Year’s Day.
The attacks on Kyiv on Sunday followed a barrage of at least 20 cruise missiles fired at targets across Ukraine in what officials there called “terror on New Year’s Eve”.
Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that the first blasts of the new year began roughly 30 minutes after midnight, hitting two districts. He said there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Read more here.
Defending Russia a ‘sacred duty’: Putin
Russian leader Vladimir Putin, breaking with tradition by delivering the New Year message flanked by troops rather than the Kremlin’s walls, talked sternly and combatively about 2022 as the year that “clearly separated courage and heroism from betrayal and cowardice”.
While trying to rally support among Russians amid embarrassing battlefield setbacks and growing internal criticism of his military strategy, Putin thanked Russian troops, but he also demanded more from them.
“The main thing is the fate of Russia,” Putin, dressed in a dark suit and tie, said. “Defence of the fatherland is our sacred duty to our ancestors and descendants. Moral, historical righteousness is on our side.”
Reiterating that the West is supposedly intent on “destroying Russia” by using Kyiv, Putin said he will never allow that. He signalled once again, that the war, albeit hard, will continue.
Zelenskyy says Ukraine has no option but to ‘win’
Volodymyr Zelenskyy filled his emotional 17-minute New Year message with footage of Russia’s attacks on his country and words of pride for Ukrainians withstanding attacks, darkness and cold.
“We were told: you have no other option but to surrender. We say: we have no other option than to win,” said Zelenskyy, dressed in his trademark khaki outfit and standing in darkness with the Ukrainian flag fluttering behind.
“We fight as one team – the whole country, all our regions. I admire you all.”