Russia launches 160 missiles to destroy 44 targets in most recent massive attack on Ukraine

On December 29, Russia launched as many as 160 missiles from the waters of the Black Sea to strike multiple targets in Ukraine. Military aircraft of the Russian Air Force were also involved in the attack. Eighteen Tupolev Tu-95MC and five Tu-22M3 fired missiles to strike targets across all of Ukraine.

Improper operation of Ukrainian air defences caused many of those missiles strike civilian infrastructure such as residential buildings and hospitals.

Yuriy Ignat, the speaker of the Ukrainian Air Force, said that the Ukrainian military personnel had not seen so many targets on their radar screens at a time for long already.

"Moscow was launching everything save for Kalibr missiles: Kinzhals, S-300, cruise and ballistic missiles, UAVs, Kh-22 or Kh-32, about 18 strategic bombers launched X-101/X-505 missiles," he said.

Ignat noted that radars showed targets in almost all of Ukraine's airspace.

Valery Zaluzhny, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that on the night of December 29, explosions were reported at military and industrial facilities in Ukraine, as well as at critical infrastructure facilities of the republic.

Kyiv, Dnepr, Kharkiv, Poltava, Vinnytsia, as well as Khmelnitsky, Odessa and Mykolaiv regions were attacked.

According to Mash Telegram channel, which refers to military officers and Ukrainian sources, at least 44 objects were struck:

• the Yavorovsky training ground,
• a critical infrastructure facility in Lviv,
• military warehouses in Kyiv and Kharkiv,
• the building of Artem rocket and space enterprise in Kyiv,
• the area where air defense systems are based in the region,
• Academy of Ground Forces in Lviv.

Dozens of explosions occurred in different areas of Kharkiv. Industrial enterprises and warehouses were damaged. Reportedly, a military unit and the Malyshev tank plant came under attack as well.

In Odessa, port infrastructure and a mothballed industrial facility were damaged. In Kyiv, warehouses in the Podolsk region, which were allegedly used to store weapons, were destroyed.

Ukrainian energy company Ukrenergo said that a thermal power plant in eastern Ukraine was damaged. A high-voltage line in a central region of the country was also damaged. Power outages were reported in four regions of Ukraine — Kyiv, Dnepropetrovsk, Odessa, Kharkiv.

Russia comments on the massive attack on Ukraine

Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defence Andrei Krasov said that the Russian forces were attacking only military targets in Ukrainian cities.

"Our Armed Forces always, during combat missions in Ukraine and in the Syrian Arab Republic, inflict fire damage only on military infrastructure and military targets. Our Armed Forces, and the President spoke about this, never strike civilian infrastructure. The President once compared: look at what is happening in the Gaza Strip and what is happening now in Ukraine. Two different things," Andrey Krasov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defence said.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said that in the period from December 23 to 29, the Russian Armed Forces carried out 50 group and one massive strike with the use of high precision weapons and drones targeting military-industrial complex facilities, military airfield infrastructure, arsenals, as well as storage facilities for artillery ammunition, unmanned boats, weapons and fuel.

Russia targeted sites of deployment of Ukrainian troops, "nationalist formations” and foreign mercenaries, the ministry said.