In response to a deadly week in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has declared an escalation in military strikes on Ukrainian targets, with Kyiv experiencing a heavy assault early on Tuesday.
The announcement comes after a Ukrainian attack on the Russian city of Belgorod on Saturday, resulting in 25 casualties, including five children, according to local officials. This strike followed Moscow's large-scale attack on Ukrainian cities on Friday, resulting in over 40 fatalities and 160 injuries.
During a visit to a military hospital on Monday, Putin stated, "We're going to intensify the strikes. No crime against civilians will rest unpunished, that's for certain."
Despite Putin's assertion that Moscow would target "military installations," strikes on Monday hit a university and a museum. Early Tuesday witnessed Ukraine's air force reporting multiple missile strikes on Kyiv, with more than 10 loud explosions heard by AFP journalists, shaking buildings in the city center.
The city's military administration reported fragments of downed rockets falling in several districts, including on residential buildings. Mayor Vitali Klitschko mentioned power outages in several areas of the capital.
On New Year's Day, Kyiv claimed Russia targeted the country with a "record" number of drones, launching 90 Iranian-made Shahed drones, of which 87 were reportedly destroyed. Russian shelling on New Year's Day allegedly resulted in one fatality in the southern Odesa region and another in Kherson.
As violence escalated, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy refuted the notion that Russia was winning the nearly two-year-old war, describing it as only a "feeling." Zelenskiy highlighted Moscow's heavy battlefield losses, specifically mentioning the besieged eastern town of Avdiivka, where he claimed thousands of Russian soldiers were killed.
Zelenskiy acknowledged that progress in 2023 may not have met global expectations but pointed to Ukrainian forces breaking through a Russian Black Sea blockade as a significant achievement, enabling grain exports along a new southern route.
Facing obstacles in garnering additional support from the United States and the European Union, Zelenskiy emphasized the need to persuade global leaders that defending Ukraine was tantamount to defending the world. He rejected any notion of Moscow's interest in peace talks, characterizing Russia's actions as those of a "terrorist country."
Responding to Putin's comments on Monday about the strategic initiative favoring Russia, Zelenskiy emphasized the Ukrainian perspective, citing the failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the summer. He acknowledged Moscow's desire to end the conflict but insisted it should be done "only on our terms."