According to the AP, Russia killed at least 24 civilians nationwide on Friday when it launched 122 missiles and numerous drones at Ukrainian cities.
The big picture: According to Ukrainian officials, Moscow launched the largest barrage in almost two years of full-scale fighting.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, 27 suicide drones built in Iran and 87 cruise missiles were shot down.
Days after Ukrainian assaults on a Crimean port destroyed a Russian Navy landing ship, CNN reported, the barrage occurred.
Large-scale Russian bombings on civilian facilities have frequently followed successful Ukrainian attacks throughout the war.
According to Reuters, Poland is a member of NATO. General Maciej Klisz, the operational commander of the Polish armed forces, stated on Friday that a Russian missile appeared to have crossed Poland’s airspace during the attack.
After speaking with Polish President Andrzej Duda about the missile, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that the alliance “stands in solidarity with our valued Ally, is monitoring the situation and we will remain in contact as the facts are established.”
In between the words: According to defense professionals, Russia probably needed several months to gather enough weapons to carry out a major attack of this magnitude.
It’s unclear if the strike was a one-time event or the start of a larger effort similar to the one Russia carried out last winter to target civilian infrastructure and energy facilities in order to impose widespread blackouts and force Ukrainians to ration their electricity.
The severe humanitarian disaster that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused was made worse by that winter bombing campaign.
What they’re saying: Dmytro Kuleba, the foreign minister of Ukraine, stated on social media that the attack targeted schools, maternity hospitals, residential structures, and business establishments.
“Today, millions of Ukrainians awoke to the loud sound of explosions,” Kuleba stated. “I wish those sounds of explosions in Ukraine could be heard all around the world.”
The launches, according to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, should spur Ukraine’s friends to strengthen their backing since they demonstrate that “[Russian President Putin] will stop at nothing to achieve his aim of eradicating freedom and democracy.”
Olexander Scherba, a diplomat for Ukraine, posted video of an Orthodox church in Odesa that was damaged during the bombardment.
The big picture: According to Zach Basu of Axios, the incident coincides with the United States’ continued refusal to approve more military aid to Ukraine in Congress due in part to the issue’s connection to one of the most contentious political issues in the country: immigration.
Republicans have insisted that border security measures, which are opposed by Democrats and the White House, be included in any further aid to Ukraine.
Putin has boasted multiple times in recent weeks that he thinks Ukraine is running out of weapons.
“They have no future and nothing at all. However, we do have a future,” Putin declared on December.