Ukraine received a shipment of critically needed air defense missiles just a day before Russia launched a massive overnight attack, helping to repel the strike, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
According to the president, the strike in Tuesday, Jan. 20’s early hours involved a large number of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as more than 300 attack drones. Ukrainian air defense systems engaged a significant share of the targets.
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“A day before this strike, we finally received the necessary missiles, and this helped significantly. Every support package matters. Missiles for Patriots, NASAMS, and other air defense systems are critically needed,” Zelensky said.
He added that a special energy coordination meeting would determine the full scale of the damage and the resources needed to restore electricity, heating and water supplies.
“The most difficult situation remains in Kyiv, where a large number of residential buildings are without heating. It is crucial that the world does not remain silent. Russia cannot be treated as an equal while it focuses solely on killing and abusing people,” Zelensky said.
Russian ballistic missiles and drones struck Kyiv overnight, leaving more than 5,600 high-rise buildings without heat as emergency crews work amid freezing temperatures.
Russia struck Kyiv, Dnipro, Vinnytsia, Chornomorsk and other areas.
In the Kyiv region’s Bucha district, a 50-year-old man was killed, and two gas stations were damaged.
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Russia’s Missile Barrage Knocks Out Heat for Over 5,600 Buildings in Kyiv, Disrupts Water Supply
Russian ballistic missiles and drones struck Kyiv overnight, injuring civilians and leaving more than 5,600 high-rise buildings without heat as emergency crews work amid freezing temperatures.
In Dnipro and the surrounding region, an industrial facility was hit, causing a fire and injuring two women.
In Chornomorsk, Odesa region, a drone struck a high-rise building and damaged energy infrastructure.
In the Vinnytsia region, a critical infrastructure facility was hit, while in the Rivne region more than 10,000 subscribers were left without power.
Due to damage to the energy system, emergency power outages were introduced in several regions, including Sumy, Kharkiv, and the Brovary and Boryspil districts of Kyiv region.
Emergency outages had already been in effect in Kyiv since Jan. 9.
Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation under Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said the main goal of Tuesday’s attack was to leave Kyiv without electricity and heating.
“This is deliberate terror against the civilian population, carried out in front of the entire world, which is still watching and doing nothing about Putin. More precisely, it can act – but chooses not to,” Kovalenko said.
According to him, if inaction continues, similar Russian actions are likely to spread to Europe, as “unpunished evil always grows bolder,” making air attacks on Europe only a matter of time.
According to the Air Force, from 7 p.m. on Jan. 19, Russia launched one Zircon anti-ship missile, 18 Iskander-M/S-300 ballistic missiles, 15 Kh-101 cruise missiles, and 339 Shahed, Gerbera, Italmas, and other attack drones. About 250 of them were Shahed-type UAVs.
By 10 a.m., Ukrainian air defenses had shot down or suppressed 342 targets, including 14 ballistic missiles, 13 cruise missiles, and 315 drones.
Five missiles and 24 drones hit 11 locations, while debris fell in 12 others. Data on two missiles is still being clarified