A New Year's Eve in the cold and frost: that's what lies ahead for Ukraine with the new wave of Russian air raids on the whole territory. It is one of the largest Russian bombings on Ukraine since the beginning of the war, but the extent of the damage is not yet clear. According to the latest war news in Ukraine explosions were reported in Kiev, Lviv (in western Ukraine), Kharkiv, (in east), Odessa (south) and Sumy (northeast). Ukrainian agencies and TVs report it.
While in the country resounded the alarm sirens plane, a rain of Russian missiles hit Ukraine. Power outages have been announced in the Odessa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kryvyi Rih regions and especially in Lviv, which is currently almost completely without electricity. The presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak he tweeted that over 120 missiles were fired this morning: "Over 120 missiles launched by the evil Russian world to destroy critical infrastructure and kill civilians."
According to reports from Kiev, the air defenses would have shot down most of the missiles but some would have reached their targets, even injuring some people. However, authorities have warned residents to remain alert and return to shelter immediately if the sirens sound again.
In the night there had been another attack with i kamikaze drones Iranian-made. Russia had launched 13 of them against some energy infrastructure in Kharkiv: 11 of these were fortunately shot down by Ukrainian forces before they reached their targets.
Russia-Ukraine war latest news: peace increasingly distant
The death toll rises, the attacks intensify and diplomacy is at a standstill. If after the Zelensky's visit to the USA and Putin's admissions "about the difficulties" encountered in the war seemed to have opened a glimmer of hope, with these attacks and the latest declarations peace is made up of words only. Neither Ukraine nor Russia are able to make significant progress at the moment: Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine will sit at the negotiating table with Russia only when it has withdrawn its troops from all Ukrainian territories, including those occupied in 2014, while the Kremlin insists that "there will be no peace without the annexed regions".
“We have not lost our humanity, even if we have gone through terrible months. And we won't lose it, even if a difficult year awaits us. We will achieve victory. And we really have to do it together,” the Ukrainian president said in his evening speech. “Don't forget to say thank you when you are helped. Please support those fighting for our country."
Moscow rejects the peace plan: "An illusion"
Rushing out all hope is the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov which in an interview with Ria novosti rejected the peace plan by Zelensky. "Russia does not intend to talk to anyone on the basis of the "peace formula" proposed by Vladimir Zelensky, Kiev is not ready for dialogue". Lavrov said, adding: “it is clear that Kiev is not ready for dialogue. Zelensky cherishes the illusion of obtaining, with the help of the West, the withdrawal of our troops from the Russian territory of Donbass, Crimea, Zaporozhzhia and Kherson, the payment of reparations by Russia and international tribunals and the like. Naturally, there will be no talks under these conditions,” concluded the minister.
War in Ukraine latest news: Meloni invites Zelensky to Rome
During a telephone conversation between the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and President Zelensky, Meloni renewed the Italian government's full support to Kiev in the political, military, economic and humanitarian fields, in the restoration of energy infrastructure and in the future reconstruction of Ukraine.
The Prime Minister also reaffirmed Italy's maximum commitment to every useful action to arrive at one just peace for the Ukrainian nation. Then he invited the Ukrainian leader to Rome and also confirmed his intention to go to Kiev.
After the phone call Zelensky tweeted: “I commended the Italian government's allocation of more 10 million euro and is evaluating the supply of air defense systems to protect the Ukrainian skies, we discussed the peace plan".
