Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky ,claimed that Vladimir Putin was hiding behind his troops rather than leading them after the Russian president delivered a New Year’s address flanked by soldiers.
Ukraine had a day of horrific attacks on Saturday, and Mr. Zelensky warned that Ukrainians would not forgive Russia.
In the attacks, at least one person was killed and numerous more were hurt.
Valerii Zaluzhny, the commander of the Ukrainian armed forces, reported that 12 out of 20 Russian cruise missiles were destroyed on Saturday by air defences.
Just hours into the New Year on Sunday, more missile attacks were reported on Kyiv. 45 Iranian-made kamikaze drones, according to the Ukrainian Air Force, were destroyed overnight.
However, the strikes, which occurred in the first few hours of 2023, infuriated Ukrainians who were already fed up with Russia’s relentless aerial onslaught.
Some citizens chanted the national anthem as explosions shook the city, and officials accused Russia of purposefully targeting people who were gathered to ring in the New Year.
The head of the Kyiv police, Andriy Nebitov, shared a photo on social media of a wrecked drone with the Russian greeting “Happy New Year” scrawled over it.
He said that the remains had crashed in a playground and remarked on Facebook, “That is everything you need to know about the terror state and its army.”
Two days had passed since one of the biggest airstrikes since the beginning of the war. Repeated attacks in recent weeks have resulted in numerous power outages.
Although Mr. Putin recently acknowledged bombing vital energy facilities, Moscow has consistently denied targeting civilians.
In a speech on his Telegram channel, Mr. Zelensky referred to those responsible for the attacks on Saturday as cruel.
“He’s hiding behind you, and he’s burning your country and your future. No-one will forgive you for terror. No-one in the world will forgive you for that. Ukraine will not forgive.”
Later, Mr. Zelensky thanked the Ukrainian people in a new year’s message for their “incredible” resistance against Russian advances.
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