new attacks on Kharkiv after deadly Belgorod strike

Moscow had promised on Saturday to respond to a strike blamed on the Ukrainian army which left at least 21 dead and dozens injured in the town of Belgorod.

An immediate response. Russia launched new attacks against Ukraine at dawn on Sunday, December 31, the day after the strike blamed on kyiv in the Russian city of Belgorod and to which Moscow promised a response. Several Iranian-made “Shahed” drones targeted the city of Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, during the night, according to local authorities.

“As a result of the night attack by Russian drones on Kharkiv, buildings in the city center were damaged. These are not military installations, but cafes, residential buildings and offices”the city’s mayor, Ihor Terekhov, wrote on Telegram, without mentioning any victims. “On New Year’s Eve, the Russians want to intimidate our city, but we are not afraid.”

“A deliberate act of terrorism”, according to Moscow

This attack comes the day after the strike attributed to the Ukrainian army which left 21 dead and around 110 injured in Belgorod, a Russian town located around 80 km north of Kharkiv. This is the deadliest attack on civilians in Russia since the start of the conflict in February 2022, and the Russian Defense Ministry has assured that it will not remain “unpunished”. Ukraine regularly carries out strikes in Russia, particularly in the regions closest to its territory, but their toll is generally much lower.

At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in New York, Moscow accused kyiv of committing “a deliberate act of terrorism” and to have “used cluster munitions”. It is “a blind and deliberate attack against a civilian target,” said the Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vassili Nebenzia, accusing kyiv of having targeted a sports center, an ice rink and a university. Ukraine’s allies have countered that responsibility for the war lies with Russian President Vladimir Putin.