Strike kills 63 Russian troops in occupied town; Ukraine braced for Orthodox holiday bombardment

Ukraine warned that Russia may launch more attacks over the Orthodox Christmas holiday later this week, even as it downed all 39 Iran-made Shahed drones launched overnight, according to the country’s air defence command.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on New Year’s Day that Russians were “afraid... And they are right to be afraid because they are losing. Drones, missiles, nothing else can help them”.

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On the ground

Russia shelled the central market in Beryslav, in the liberated part of the Kherson region on Monday morning, injuring at least five people, Kherson governor Yaroslav Yanushevych said on Telegram.

Russian military forces have carried out 51 air strikes on Ukraine, mostly with Iranian-made Shahed drones, Ukraine’s general staff said earlier. All the missiles were shot down, the report said.

Russia also made 55 multiple launch rocket system attacks, hitting, among other targets, a children’s hospital in Kherson.

“The threat of enemy air and missile strikes on critical infrastructure remains throughout Ukraine,” it said.

Russia says 63 troops died in Ukrainian attack

Russia’s Defence Ministry said 63 Russian servicemen were killed in a Ukrainian strike in Makiyivka in the eastern region of Donetsk, according to Interfax. The ministry, which didn’t provide the number of wounded servicemen or specify when the attack occurred, added that the facility was hit by four HIMARS rockets.

The Russian military command rarely provides figures about losses, but this is one of the most significant single-incident losses that Moscow has acknowledged since its invasion of Ukraine. At the end of September, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the military had lost 5,937 people to date in the war.

 

Ukraine braces for Orthodox Christmas strikes

Ukraine’s air defence forces are preparing for possible Russian attacks on Orthodox Christmas Eve on 6 January and Christmas on 7 January, military spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said on TV.

“Attacks are happening three days in a row. Thus we should be prepared for new ones — keeping the powder dry and rockets charged,” he said, adding that Russia has not changed its intentions regarding Ukraine.

India worries over knock-on effects of war 

Developing economies are increasingly suffering from Russia’s war in Ukraine because it has led to higher food, fuel and fertiliser prices, India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said after a meeting with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg in Vienna. Jaishankar added that differences had to be settled in negotiations.

European gas falls to lowest level since before war

European natural gas prices started the new year declining as mild weather curbed demand. Benchmark futures dropped as much as 7.9% to the lowest level since 21 February, extending three weeks of net declines.

Weather forecasts point to temperatures above seasonal norms for most of the region in the next two weeks, which will help Europe avoid depleting its stocks too soon as it goes through the winter.

Strikes damage Kyiv’s energy infrastructure

Kyiv’s energy infrastructure was damaged as a result of Russia’s night attacks, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. Water supply continues as normal, he said.

Russia launches drones; sirens go off across Ukraine 

Russia launched a barrage of drone attacks shortly before midnight on New Year’s Day, as sirens went off in southern, eastern, central and northern regions of Ukraine. Loud explosions were heard in the capital Kyiv, including downtown. The capital region’s air-defence system responded to the attacks, local authorities said on Telegram.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram one person was wounded. He did not provide details.

Russia launched a massive missile attack on 31 December, followed by drone attacks, as Ukrainians were celebrating the New Year, damaging residential houses, schools, private cars and university buildings.

“Russian terrorists were pathetic, and they entered this year staying the same,” Zelensky said in his daily video address to the nation, praising the air defence forces for shooting down 45 drones the night before. DM