Russia kills at least 24 in largest aerial attack of war, Ukraine says
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A firefighter extinguishing a fire in a high-rise building after a missile attack in Odesa on Dec. 29. Photo: Oleksandr Gimanovoleksandr Gimanov/AFP via Getty Images
Russia launched 122 missiles and dozens of drones against Ukrainian cities on Friday, killing at least 24 civilians across the country, AP reports.
The big picture: Ukrainians officials described the barrage as the largest launched by Moscow in nearly two years of full-scale war.
- The Ukrainian Air Force said 87 cruise missiles and 27 Iranian-produced suicide drones were downed.
- The barrage came days after a Russian Navy landing ship was destroyed following Ukrainian strikes on a port in Crimea, CNN reports.
- Throughout the war, successful Ukrainian attacks have repeatedly been followed by large-scale Russian strikes on civilian infrastructure.
Meanwhile, General Maciej Klisz, operational commander of Polish armed forces, said on Friday that during the attack a Russian missile appeared to have entered the airspace of NATO-member Poland, Reuters reports.
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he spoke with Polish President President Andrzej Duda regarding the missile, adding that the alliance "stands in solidarity with our valued Ally, is monitoring the situation and we will remain in contact as the facts are established."
Between the lines: Defense analysts said it likely took Russia several months to stockpile enough weaponry to launch such as massive attack.
- It's unclear if the attack was a one-off or marked the beginning of another campaign like the one Russia conducted last winter to cause massive blackouts and force Ukrainian citizens to ration energy by targeting energy facilities and other civilian infrastructure.
- That winter bombing campaign exacerbated the widespread humanitarian crisis Russia's invasion has created in Ukraine.
What they're saying: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on social media that maternity hospitals, schools, residential buildings and commercial facilities were targeted during the attack.
- "Today, millions of Ukrainians awoke to the loud sound of explosions," Kuleba said. "I wish those sounds of explosions in Ukraine could be heard all around the world."
- British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the launches should motivate Ukraine's allies to deepen their support, saying they show that "[Russian President Putin] will stop at nothing to achieve his aim of eradicating freedom and democracy."
- Ukrainian diplomat Olexander Scherba shared footage of damage to an Orthodox Church in Odesa during the barrage.
The big picture: The attack comes as additional military aid from the U.S. to Ukraine remains stalled in Congress, in part because it has been tied to one of the most intractable debates in American politics: immigration, Axios' Zach Basu reports.
- Republicans have demanded that any additional aid to Ukraine be paired with border security measures that Democrats and the White House oppose.
- In recent weeks, Putin has on several occasions boasted that he believes Ukraine is running out of weaponry.
- "They don't have anything, they have no future. But we do have a future," Putin said on Dec. 10.
Go deeper: Ukraine's triple stalemate
