Russian missiles strike Kyiv on New Year's Eve, at least one dead - Reuters

KYIV, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Russia fired much than 20 cruise missiles astatine targets successful Ukraine connected Saturday, sidesplitting astatine slightest 1 idiosyncratic successful the superior Kyiv and injuring much than a twelve successful what 1 authoritative described arsenic "terror connected New Year's Eve".

Moscow's 2nd large rocket onslaught successful 3 days severely damaged a edifice southbound of Kyiv's centre and a residential gathering successful different district. A Japanese writer was among the wounded and taken to hospital, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Russia has been attacking captious infrastructure successful Ukraine since October with barrages of rocket and drones, causing sweeping powerfulness blackouts and different outages for millions of radical arsenic the acold upwind bites.

"This time, Russia's wide rocket onslaught is deliberately targeting residential areas, not adjacent our vigor infrastructure," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote connected Twitter aft the attack.

"War transgression Putin 'celebrates' New Year by sidesplitting people," Kuleba said, calling for Russia to beryllium deprived of its imperishable spot connected the United Nations Security Council.

Reuters correspondents heard a bid of large explosions successful Kyiv that came successful 2 abstracted waves.

Army main Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said aerial defences changeable down 12 incoming cruise missiles, including six astir Kyiv region, 5 successful Zhytomyrskiy portion and 1 successful Khmeltnytskiy region.

The cruise missiles had been launched from Russian strategical bombers implicit the Caspian Sea hundreds of miles distant and from land-based launchers, helium said connected Telegram.

Ukraine's quality rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets described the onslaught arsenic "Terror connected New Year's Eve".

"The violent state is congratulating the Ukrainian radical with missiles. But we are indestructible and unconquerable. There is nary fear, but the fury is rising. We volition decidedly win," Lubinets said.

Kyiv's politician said 30% of consumers were without energy successful the superior owed to the instauration of exigency blackouts, but residents had cardinal heating and moving water.

NATIONWIDE BLASTS

Other cities crossed Ukraine besides came nether fire. In the confederate portion of Mykolaiv, section politician Vitaliy Kim said connected tv that six radical had been wounded.

In a abstracted station connected Telegram, Kim said Russia had targeted civilians with the strikes, thing Moscow has antecedently denied.

"According to today's tendencies, the occupiers are striking not conscionable captious (infrastructure) ... successful galore cities (they are targeting) simply residential areas, hotels, garages, roads."

In the occidental metropolis of Khmelnytskyi, 2 radical were wounded successful a drone attack, Ukrainian statesmanlike adjutant Kyrylo Tymoshenko said.

The authoritative besides reported a onslaught successful the confederate concern metropolis of Zaporizhzhia, which Tymoshenko said had damaged residential buildings.

Ukraine's defence ministry responded connected Telegram by saying: "With each caller rocket onslaught connected civilian infrastructure, much and much Ukrainians are convinced of the request to combat until the implicit illness of Putin's regime."

Curfews ranging from 7 p.m. to midnight remained successful spot crossed Ukraine, making celebrations for the commencement of 2023 intolerable successful nationalist spaces.

Several determination governors posted messages connected societal media informing residents not to interruption restrictions connected New Year's Eve, with immoderate adjacent informing that the constabulary beingness connected metropolis streets would beryllium accrued astatine night.

Additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Writing by Max Hunder and Tom Balmforth; Editing by Hugh Lawson and David Holmes

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