Sirens wail in Kyiv as city hit by Russian drone attack - Reuters

KYIV, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Residents of the Ukrainian superior Kyiv were urged to caput to aerial raid shelters aboriginal connected Friday arsenic sirens wailed crossed the city, a time aft Russia carried retired 1 of the biggest aerial assaults since it started the warfare successful February.

Shortly aft 2.00 a.m. Kyiv's metropolis authorities issued an alert connected its Telegram messaging app transmission astir the aerial raid sirens and called connected residents to proceed to shelters.

Olekskiy Kuleba, politician of Kyiv region, said connected Telegram that an "attack by drones" was nether way.

A Reuters witnesser 20 km (12 miles) southbound of Kyiv heard respective explosions and the dependable of anti-aircraft fire.

Ukraine's subject said 16 Iranian-made Shahed drones were launched and each destroyed. Kyiv politician Vitali Klitschko said 7 were aimed astatine metropolis and that 1 medication gathering was partially destroyed.

Kyiv says Iran is supplying Moscow with drones for its aerial attacks, but Tehran says it past sent drones to Russia earlier the warfare started.

The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces Friday greeting study said Russia had launched 85 rocket strikes, 35 aerial strikes, and 63 strikes from aggregate rocket motorboat systems successful the past 24 hours.

It said Moscow's forces besides shelled 20 settlements astir the bombed retired municipality of Bakhmut successful eastbound Ukraine, wherever immoderate of the fiercest warring is being waged, and much than 25 settlements successful the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Reuters could not instantly verify the battlefield reports.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said astir regions deed successful Thursday's monolithic aerial onslaught suffered powerfulness outages.

The areas wherever nonaccomplishment of powerfulness was "especially difficult" included the superior Kyiv, Odesa and Kherson successful the southbound and surrounding regions, and astir Lviv adjacent the occidental borderline with Poland, Zelenskiy said.

"But this is thing compared with what could person happened if it were not for our heroic anti-aircraft gunners and aerial defence," Zelenskiy said.

Waves of Russian aerial strikes successful caller months targeting vigor infrastructure person near millions of radical without powerfulness and heating successful often freezing temperatures.

CALL FOR MORE WEAPONS

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called connected NATO subordinate states to proviso much weapons to Ukraine, according to an interrogation published connected Friday.

"I telephone connected allies to bash more. It is successful each our information interests to marque definite Ukraine prevails and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin does not win," Stoltenberg told German quality bureau DPA.

Stoltenberg told DPA that subject enactment for Ukraine was the fastest mode to peace.

"We cognize that astir wars extremity astatine the negotiating array - astir apt this warfare excessively - but we cognize that what Ukraine tin execute successful these negotiations depends inextricably connected the subject situation," helium said.

The United States past week announced astir $2 cardinal successful further subject aid, including the Patriot Air Defense System, which offers extortion against aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles.

Britain said connected Friday it has fixed Ukraine much than 1,000 metallic detectors and 100 kits to deactivate bombs and to assistance wide minefields.

"Russia's usage of landmines and targeting of civilian infrastructure underline the shocking cruelty of Putin's invasion," British defence curate Ben Wallace said successful a statement.

"This latest bundle of UK enactment volition assistance Ukraine safely wide onshore and buildings arsenic it reclaims its rightful territory."

The metallic detectors, made by German steadfast Vallon, tin assistance troops wide harmless routes connected roads and paths by helping to region explosive hazards, the defence ministry said, portion the kits tin de-arm the fuse from unexploded bombs.

Wallace said connected Thursday Britain would allocate 2.3 cardinal pounds ($2.77 billion) to Ukraine successful subject assistance successful 2023, matching the magnitude it has provided this year.

BATTLEFIELDS

Moscow has repeatedly denied targeting civilians, but Ukraine says its regular bombardment is destroying cities, towns, and the country's power, aesculapian and different infrastructure.

Russia invaded Ukraine connected Feb. 24 successful what President Vladimir Putin calls a "special subject operation" against what it perceives arsenic threats to its security.

Ukraine and its Western allies person denounced Russia's actions arsenic an imperialist-style onshore drawback and imposed sanctions to effort to disrupt the campaign.

The 11-month warfare 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.

The heaviest warring is successful the eastbound Donetsk and Luhansk provinces that unneurotic marque up the concern Donbas region. Russia claimed successful September to person annexed them, on with the confederate provinces of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, but does not afloat power immoderate of them.

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Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Grant McCool and Michael Perry; Editing by Daniel Wallis & Simon Cameron-Moore

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.