Kyiv, Dec 13: Russia launched a massive aerial attack against Ukraine on Friday, firing 93 cruise and ballistic missiles and almost 200 drones, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, describing it as one of the heaviest bombardments of the country’s energy sector since Russia’s full-scale invasion almost three years ago.
Ukrainian defences shot down 81 missiles, including 11 cruise missiles that were intercepted by F-16 warplanes provided by Western allies earlier this year, Zelenskyy said.
Russia is “terrorising millions of people” with such assaults, he said on his Telegram channel, renewing his plea for international unity against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“A strong reaction from the world is needed: a massive strike – a massive reaction. This is the only way to stop terror,” Zelenskyy said.
But uncertainty surrounds how the war might unfold next year. President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office next month, has vowed to end the war and has thrown into doubt whether vital US military support for Kyiv will continue.
In Moscow, the Defence Ministry said the Russian military used long-range precision missiles and drones on “critically important fuel and energy facilities in Ukraine that ensure the functioning of the military industrial complex.” The strike was in retaliation for Wednesday’s Ukrainian attack using US-supplied the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMs, on a Russian air base, it said.
Trump said in an interview published in TIME magazine on Thursday that he was against allowing Ukraine to hit targets on Russian soil using US provided weapons.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that Trump’s stance “conforms to our position.” “In this case, we have a shared vision of causes of escalation and that is positive. Obviously, Trump realises what escalates the conflict,” Peskov told reporters. (AP)
