Retaliatory attacks on both sides claim dozens of lives in Ukraine and Russia

Dozens of people were killed and injured on both sides in heavy attacks on both sides this weekend in the border area between the Russian city of Belgorod and the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv. Following Friday’s large-scale Russian attack on Ukrainian targets, which claimed dozens of lives, Ukraine on Saturday fired missiles and drones at the Russian city of Belgorod, located just forty kilometers from the Ukrainian border. According to the Russian Emergencies Ministry and Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, 24 people have been killed and more than a hundred injured so far. Four children are said to be among the dead. NRC cannot independently confirm these figures, nor the claim that the damage was partly caused by a poorly functioning Russian anti-aircraft system.

The Russian response was not long in coming. Just hours after what Russia’s Defense Ministry called a “terrorist attack” on Belgorod, Ukraine’s Kharkiv was hit by Russian missiles and Iranian-made drones. At least 26 people were injured, according to the mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terechov. A British journalist was reportedly injured when the Kharkiv Palace hotel, where foreign journalists often stay, was hit. In a village in the Izyum region, two residents were killed just after midnight. “On the eve of the New Year, the Russians want to intimidate us, but we are not afraid,” Mayor Terechov said. Air defenses are also said to have stopped a Russian drone attack in Kyiv.

Air raid shelters locked

While Ukrainians have had to live with attacks on civilian targets for almost two years, the war remains far away for most Russians. The Belgorod border region is the only Russian region that is regularly targeted by Ukrainian missiles and drones. Russian Telegram channels shared images of the moment of the impacts, showing several large explosions in the city center. Journalists from the independent Russian news media 7×7 and Meduza recorded the panic in the city and the reactions of shocked residents.

Although citizens were urged by the Russian authorities to visit the shelters, in many cases they turned out to be locked. “Where should we go?” was the response to a video showing a large padlock on a bomb shelter. The city’s mayor Demidov called on citizens via Telegram on Sunday to report problems with closed bomb shelters. In several Russian cities in the region, citizens were urged to stay indoors as much as possible on New Year’s Eve.

UN meeting

Much is still unclear about the precise circumstances of the attack in Belgorod. From analysis of the images and audio recordings, Meduza journalists conclude that the impacts could have come from both Ukrainian Uragan missiles and debris from Russian anti-aircraft missiles. Russia, which has been hitting Ukrainian civilian targets for almost two years, reacted angrily. In a UN meeting convened on Saturday, Russia’s UN envoy Valery Nebenzha accused Ukraine of deliberately hitting civilian targets, including an open-air ice rink, a sports center and a university.

Russian Foreign Spokesperson Maria Zacharova accused London and Washington of complicity in the attack. “Together with the United States, Britain is inciting the Kiyv regime to commit terrorist actions because it knows that the Ukrainian counteroffensive has failed,” Zacharova said. “If the Russians want to accuse anyone of Russian deaths in this war, they should start with President Putin,” British UN envoy Thomas Phipps responded.

As usual, Kyiv has not officially responded to the attack or the accusations. A source within the Ukrainian security apparatus claimed to the BBC that the devastation in Belgorod is the result of “incompetent work by the Russian anti-aircraft defense.”

New Year celebrations

Out of compassion for the victims in Belgorod, the New Year’s festivities and fireworks shows planned for this Sunday have been canceled in several Russian cities. Previously – just like last year – the traditional New Year’s celebrations were canceled in, among others Moscow and Belgorod. The New Year’s reception in the Kremlin will also not take place, the Kremlin announced last week. President Putin will give his traditional New Year’s speech broadcast live this Sunday evening just before noon.

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A day of mourning has been declared in Ukraine on January 1 after Friday’s large-scale Russian attack. On Sunday it was announced that 35 people had been killed in the Ukrainian capital, bringing the total number of deaths from Friday’s attacks, together with the victims in Zaporizhie, Dnipro and Odesa, to well over forty.

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