Ukrainian officials on January 28 confirmed at least 9 dead and dozens injured in Russian missile and drone strikes across the country, days after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Moscow was preparing a large-scale assault.
The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia fired 656 drones and 73 missiles at Ukraine overnight. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least 4 people were killed and 58 wounded, including 2 children, in the capital during a "massive enemy attack." He warned residents: "Explosions in the city. Air defense is working! Stay in shelters!"
In the central city of Dnipro, a Russian strike killed 5 people and wounded 25, 3 of them in critical condition, according to Dnipropetrovsk Governor Oleksandr Ganzha. In Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, 10 people including a child were wounded, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
Al Jazeera correspondent Audrey Macalpine in Kyiv said the Ukrainian government had warned residents of a potential large-scale Russian attack and many had taken shelter. Russia's Defense Ministry stated the shelling targeted Ukraine's military-industrial complex, using "high-precision weapons" in "massive strikes" on targets in Kyiv, Zaporizhia, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, as well as energy and transport infrastructure of Ukrainian troops in other areas.
On the opposite side, a Ukrainian drone attack killed one person in Russia's Kursk region, near the border with Ukraine, according to Governor Alexander Khinshtein. Another drone strike caused a fire at an oil refinery in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar, local authorities said.
The strikes on Ukraine came after Zelenskyy said on January 24: "We have intelligence about Russia preparing a new large-scale attack," and urged people to follow safety measures. He also asserted: "Our air force and sky defenders will be on duty 24/7, as always." The large-scale assault unfolded as US-led peace efforts to end the war, which began in February 2022 with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, have largely been paused as President Donald Trump's administration focuses on conflicts in the Middle East.
