Ukraine: Russia Launched One of its Biggest Aerial Attacks Yet

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Facts

  • Over a reported 18-hour period, Russia launched what a Ukrainian Air Force official said was its biggest airstrike attack of the war. According to officials on Friday, Moscow fired 122 missiles and dozens of drones into Ukraine, killing at least 30 civilians, wounding 144, and leaving an unknown number of others under the wreckage.1
  • Officials reportedly said that residential buildings, a train station, and a business center were hit in Kyiv in the early morning, killing at least seven and injuring 30. In the second-largest Ukrainian city, the northeastern city of Kharkiv, 20 missiles were reportedly launched, damaging warehouses, a medical facility, and a transport depot, as well as killing three and injuring 13, according to the city's mayor.2
  • In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia used 'nearly every type of weapon' it has, including 'Kindzhals,’ S-300s, cruise missiles, and drones,' adding that 'Strategic bombers launched X-101/X-505 missiles.' He also claimed that Ukrainian forces were able to shoot down a 'majority' of the missiles fired by Russia.3
  • While Russia has admitted to conducting a series of 'group strikes and one massive strike' between Dec. 23 and 29 — following a Ukrainian strike on a Russian ship in Crimea — it maintains that its targets were military installations, not residential areas.4
  • This followed recent warnings from Western officials that Moscow was previously limiting its use of cruise missiles to stock up for a larger attack in the winter. Russia's previous two largest attacks consisted of 96 missiles in November 2022 and 81 missiles in March.1
  • Meanwhile, Ukrainian neighbor Poland, a NATO member, also claimed it intercepted an 'unidentified air object' entering from the direction of Ukraine but wasn't able to determine what it was or if it landed in Polish territory. The news comes as Ukraine has been waiting for the US to decide on Pres. Joe Biden's proposed $61B aid package to Kyiv.2

Sources: 1ABC News, 2NBC, 3CNBC and 4Al Jazeera.

Narratives

  • Pro-Ukraine narrative, as provided by RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Russian war crimes — which obviously include bombing hospitals and residential areas — are nothing new, but this latest aerial bombardment shows Moscow is growing less inclined to protect civilians. As Western countries debate whether they can afford to lend a hand to Kyiv, Ukrainian civilians are facing bombings every day. There's no time to waste when innocent men, women, and children are under constant threat of murder.
  • Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by RT International. There are likely very few people in either Ukraine or Russia who wished for this tragic war to happen — unfortunately for the region, the US and its Western allies had different goals in mind. According to Ukrainian diplomat Aleksandr Chaly, a senior member of Ukraine's delegation during peace talks at the start of the war, Vladimir Putin 'tried to do everything possible' to end hostilities, but the US and EU leveraged Kyiv's desire to join NATO and the EU to impede any progress.

Predictions