Russia launched a large-scale missile attack across Ukraine, wounding several people and hitting residential and industrial buildings, Ukrainian officials said.
All of Ukraine was under an air raid alert from around 6am local time (4am UK time) with the Ukrainian air force saying the country was under threat from several waves of cruise missiles and, in some areas, ballistic missiles.
“The enemy is fiercely attacking peaceful cities,” Oleksandr Vilkul, mayor of the southern Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, said via the messaging app Telegram.
Mr. Vilkol said that full information about the extent of the possible damage will be revealed after the end of the Russian attack.
The goals of the Russian attack or the full extent of the strikes were not immediately clear.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow.
People take shelter inside a metro station in Kiev during an air raid warning today
Anatoly Kortev, secretary of the Zaporizhia City Council in the southeast of the country, said via the Telegram application that the missile attack on the city led to casualties, but he did not provide further details.
At least one woman was injured in an attack on Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said via messaging app Telegram.
He added that industrial facilities were bombed, which led to a fire.
Regional Governor Yuri Malashko said five explosions were heard in the city of Zaporizhya, and at least two people were injured.
“The missiles hit residential areas,” Malacho said on Telegram.
Read more:
Putin praises “Russian warriors” on Orthodox Christmas Eve
Analysis: Both sides are running out of ammunition, but one has the advantage
Please use Chrome browser for an easily accessible video player
From Sunday, January 7: Moments after the Russian strike on Ukraine
Ukrainian military officials in other cities, including Dnipro and Khmelnytsky, said their cities had been subjected to a “massive missile attack” by Russia.
Nearly two years into the war that Russia started with a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, both sides have turned to increasing air strikes on each other's territory, after struggling to make significant gains along the front lines.
Russia launched some of its largest attacks on Kiev, as well as on Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv.
Vladimir Putin with the families of soldiers killed in Ukraine
The final blows are yet to come Russian President Vladimir Putin He pledged to support soldiers defending Russia's interests, and ordered his government to provide greater support to those fighting.
His comments came after Russia launched drone and missile attacks on Ukraine over the weekend, killing two people and wounding several others in the southern city of Kherson, while twelve people were wounded in a raid on Dnipro.
“Many of our men, our brave men, heroes, Russian warriors, even now, on this holiday, are defending the interests of our people,” the Russian President said, on the eve of Orthodox Christmas, Saturday, while meeting with the families of soldiers killed in Ukraine. A country that bears arms.
