THE Russia today launched one of its biggest missile attacks in the war with Ukraine, killing 28 civilians, injuring more than 130 others and hitting residential buildings in Kyiv, in the southern and western part of the countryas officials said.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry said the large-scale airstrike in the final days of the year showed there should be no “truce talks” with the Kremlin at a time when there is uncertainty over the future of crucial Western support for Kiev.

“Today, millions of Ukrainians woke up to the loud sound of explosions. I wish these sounds of explosions in Ukraine could be heard all over the world,” noted Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, appealing to Kiev’s allies to continue providing long-term military aid in his country.

In the capital Kyiv, at least three people were reportedly killed and 32 confirmed injured after strikes hit residential buildings and uninhabited property, police and other officials said.

Maria, a resident of Kiev, told Reuters that she was awakened by a “terrible bang” and took refuge in the bathroom of the house.

“It was very scary. A rocket was flying in the air and everything around was buzzing. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to run down to the shelter,” he said. “As soon as I got into the bathroom, the mirror was thrown off the wall.”

The Air Force said it shot down 87 cruise missiles and 27 drones among a total of 158 aerial “targets” fired by Russia.

NATO member Poland said an unidentified object entered its airspace from neighboring Ukraine and was detected by its air defenses until its signal disappeared from radar.

Yuri Ikhnat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian PA, neither confirmed nor denied the report, but noted the existence of similar incidents in Poland and Romania during previous Russian airstrikes.

Army chief General Valery Zaluzny said the attack targeted critical infrastructure and industrial and military facilities.

“Russia attacked with everything it had in its arsenal (…) About 110 missiles were fired, most of which were shot down,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukraine has been warning for weeks that Russia may be building up a stockpile of missiles to launch a major air strike on its energy system. Last winter, millions of people were plunged into darkness when Russian bombing knocked out the energy grid.

The Foreign Ministry said today’s strike was “one of the largest missile attacks on Ukrainian towns and villages” since Russia invaded the country in February 2022.

The Energy Ministry reported power outages in areas of southern Odesa, northeastern Kharkiv, central Dnipropetrovsk and the region outside Kyiv.

Extensive damage information

As rescuers searched through the rubble caused by a raid that hit a house in the southeastern city of Zaporizhia, Viktor Chuhunov, 73, told Reuters he was in his home when he suddenly heard a loud explosion.

“A woman died here. I don’t know if her son was at home, maybe he was at work,” he said of the home.

Rockets also hit several infrastructure facilities in Zaporizhia, the interior minister said on the Telegram messaging service.

Five people were killed in the central district of Dnipropetrovsk, where rockets hit a shopping mall, a house and a six-story building, police said.

Three people were killed in the Black Sea port city of Odessa and at least 15 were injured, including two children, the regional governor said, citing strikes on residential buildings.

In the Lviv region on the border with Poland, missile strikes on unnamed critical infrastructure facilities were confirmed, the president’s office said.

One person was killed in a high-rise building in the city of Lviv that was destroyed, the regional governor said. Three schools and a kindergarten were also damaged, the mayor said.

In the northeastern city of Kharkiv, a missile strike destroyed a warehouse, industrial facilities, medical facilities and a transport depot, the regional governor said. One person was killed and 11 others were injured, he said.