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KYIV/BAKHMUT, Ukraine, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Air raid sirens rang crossed Ukraine arsenic Russia unleashed much than 100 missiles connected Thursday morning, according to a Ukrainian statesmanlike adviser, and blasts were heard successful respective cities, including the superior Kyiv."A monolithic aerial raid. More than 100 missiles successful respective waves," statesmanlike bureau advisor Oleksiy Arestovych wrote connected Facebook, and the caput of Ukraine's Mykolaiv portion besides reported Russian missiles successful the air.
Explosions were heard successful Kyiv, Zhytomyr and Odesa, according to a Reuters analogous and section media reports.
Power cuts were announced successful the Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions, aimed astatine minimising imaginable harm to the vigor infrastructure.
The blitz came hard connected the heels of the Kremlins rejection of a Ukrainian bid plan, insisting that Kyiv judge Russia's annexation of 4 regions.
Moscow has repeatedly denied targeting civilians, but Ukraine says its regular bombardment is destroying cities, towns, and the country's infrastructrure from powerfulness to medical.
On Wednesday, Russian shelling deed the maternity helping of a infirmary successful the metropolis of Kherson, though no-one was hurt, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's lawman main of staff. Staff and patients were moved to a shelter, Tymoshenko said successful a station connected Telegram.
"It was frightening ... the explosions began abruptly, the model grip started to teardrop disconnected ... oh, my hands are inactive shaking," Olha Prysidko, a caller mother, said. "When we came to the basement, the shelling wasn't over. Not for a minute."
Ukraine's precocious liberated confederate metropolis of Kherson has remained nether changeless bombardment from Russian forces which had retreated to the eastbound slope of the stream erstwhile the metropolis was retaken successful a large triumph for Ukraine past month.
Zelenskiy, successful a video address, urged Ukrainians to hug loved ones, archer friends they admit them, enactment colleagues, convey their parents and rejoice with their children much often.
"We person not mislaid our humanity, though we person endured unspeakable months," helium said. "And we volition not suffer it, though determination is simply a hard twelvemonth ahead."
Russia invaded Ukraine connected Feb. 24. Kyiv and its Western allies person denounced Russia's actions arsenic an imperialist-style onshore grab. Russian President Vladimir Putin calls it a "special subject operation" to demilitarize its neighbour.
Sweeping sanctions person been imposed connected Russia for the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people, driven millions from their homes, near cities successful ruins and shaken the planetary economy, driving up vigor and nutrient prices.
Russian state exports to Europe via pipelines collapsed to a post-Soviet low successful 2022 arsenic its largest lawsuit chopped imports owed to the Ukraine struggle and a large pipeline was damaged by mysterious blasts, Gazprom information and Reuters calculations show.
'TODAY'S REALITIES'
There is inactive nary imaginable of talks to extremity the war.
Zelenskiy is vigorously pushing a 10-point bid plan that envisages Russia respecting Ukraine's territorial integrity and pulling retired each its troops.
But Moscow dismissed it connected Wednesday, reiterating Kyiv indispensable judge Russia's annexation of the 4 regions - Luhansk and Donetsk successful the east, and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia successful the south.
There tin beryllium nary bid program "that does not instrumentality into relationship today's realities regarding Russian territory, with the introduction of 4 regions into Russia", Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Zelenskiy's thought of driving Russia retired of eastbound Ukraine and Crimea with Western assistance and getting Moscow to wage damages to Kyiv is an "illusion", the RIA quality bureau reported.
TASS cited Lavrov arsenic saying that Russia would proceed to physique up its warring spot and technological capabilities successful Ukraine. He said that Moscow's mobilised troops had undergone "serious training" and portion galore were present connected the ground, the bulk were not yet astatine the front.
Zelenskiy told parliament to remain united and praised Ukrainians for helping the West "find itself again".
"Our nationalist colours are contiguous an planetary awesome of courageousness and indomitability of the full world," helium said successful an yearly code held down closed doors.
KHERSON ATTACKS
On the battlefront, Russia shelled much than 25 settlements astir Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said connected Wednesday. The Kherson region, astatine the rima of the Dnipro, serves arsenic a gateway to Russian-annexed Crimea.
Heavy warring persisted astir the Ukrainian-held metropolis of Bakhmut, successful the eastbound state of Donetsk, and to its north, astir the cities of Svatove and Kreminna successful Luhansk, wherever Ukrainian forces are trying to interruption Russian antiaircraft lines.
Britain's defence ministry said Russia had apt reinforced the Kreminna conception of the frontline arsenic it is logistically important and comparatively susceptible pursuing Ukrainian advances further west.
Kyiv-based subject expert Oleh Zhdanov noted that Kharkiv metropolis and portion had besides travel nether dense attacks which damaged a determination state pipeline.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said successful a Telegram station that the metropolis had travel nether onslaught twice, "presumably" from Iranian Shahed drones, 5 of which Ukraine's eastbound aerial bid separately reported downing implicit the metropolis of Dnipro.
Reuters was incapable to verify battlefield reports.
Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Himani Sarkar; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Michael Perry
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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