Result 31.12: Increase in the number of victims and thousands of missiles

The death toll from the Russian attack on Kyiv on December 29 has risen to 23. Rescuers have recovered two more bodies from the rubble. When Kherson was hit, a 14-year-old boy died on the spot. A 9-year-old boy is in very serious condition. In the Dnieper, the number of victims rose to seven people. Another victim of the December 29 mass rocket attack, a 45-year-old man, died in hospital. Also on the night of December 31, the Russian military opened fire in Borovaya, Izyum district, Kharkov region. There, the bodies of a woman and two men were recovered from the ruins of a house. Meanwhile, the number of victims as a result of the rocket attack at night in Kharkov has increased to 28 people.

During the day, 42 military clashes took place. In total, the enemy carried out 12 missile and 58 air strikes, including Shahed-type attack drones, the General Staff reported. The operational situation in the east and south of Ukraine remains difficult. In the Maryinsky direction, the Defense Forces continue to suppress the invaders in the Novomikhailovka area of ​​the Donetsk region, where the enemy, with aviation support, made 4 unsuccessful attacks on the positions of our protectors. In the Avdeevsky direction, our defenders repelled 3 enemy attacks near Avdeevka and another 9 attacks in the Pervomaisky area of ​​the Donetsk region, where the enemy unsuccessfully tried to improve the tactical situation. The invaders do not abandon their intention to remove our units from their bridges on the left bank of the Dnieper. So, during the day, the enemy made 9 unsuccessful attacks on the positions of our troops, but our units continued to hold their positions and inflicted heavy losses on the invaders.

Since the start of the massive invasion, the Russian army has launched more than 7,500 missiles into Ukraine. The spokesman of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Yuri Ignat, announced this at the telethon. “Since the beginning of the mass attack on all types of missiles in Ukraine, we have more than 7,500. These are all types – aircraft missiles, S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, cruises missiles, ballistic missiles – the amount launched,” said Ignat.

Ukrainian Defense Forces have now shot down approximately 85% of cruise missiles and attack UAVs. The commander of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Nikolai Oleshchuk, announced this in his New Year’s address. According to him, since February 24, 2022, the Ukrainian Defense Forces have destroyed 1,709 missiles of various types. Among them are 15 aeroballistic Kh-47M2 Kinzhal and dozens of enemy ballistic missiles.

Russians believe that a long war in Ukraine could lead to destabilization within Russia itself, so the aggressor state looks set to intensify its repressive domestic policies in 2024. This was reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine . “The approval of the pro-Western vector of Ukraine’s development and the maintenance of our state’s access to the Black Sea is assessed by Moscow as a threat, which in the future may lead to “bigger problems,” added GUR. The occupiers recognize the total disgust and contempt for Russia in Ukrainian society as a special danger”. In particular, the aggressor country considers it critical for itself the transition of the Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine to their native language.