Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in a speech posted on social media on Saturday The Russians have shelled Ukraine on Easter, Christmas and now New Year’s Day. “They call themselves Christians and are very proud of their orthodoxy, but in reality they are on the side of the devil,” he said.
– December 31 – This day and another Russian missile attack is not the epitome of the year that terrorists want, but the epitome of Russia’s fate. (…) A state of terror will not be forgiven. There is no mercy for those who give such orders and those who carry them out. To put it mildly, Zelensky warned.
The President of Ukraine addressed the Russian people in Russian.
“This war is fought to keep a man in power for life. He is not interested in your fate, this is not a “historical” conflict. Putin hides behind soldiers, rockets, the walls of his apartments and palaces, and you. He is destroying your country and your future with fire. Nobody in the world will forgive you, including Ukraine,” Zelensky said.
As he said, from February 24, the beginning of the Kremlin invasion, 1,596 Ukrainian men and women returned to their homeland from Russian prisons – Soldiers, uniformed service officers and civilians. Earlier on Saturday, authorities in Kiev announced that 140 civilians had been freed from enemy hands that day.
On December 31, Russian troops attacked with missiles. Kiev, Kramatorsk, Zaporizhia, Mykolayiv and Khmelnytskyi. Explosions were also heard. in Kherson. Ukrainian army chief of staff General Valery Zalushny said in a Telegram that 12 of the more than 20 missiles were intercepted by air defense forces. At most, six and five were shot down in Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions, respectively.
Capital officials said At least one person was killed and 21 injured in the city. Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said he was among the injured Journalist from Japan. At least seven civilians were injured in Khmelnytskyi, six in Mykolayiv and four in Zaporizhia, regional officials said.
About 30 percent of the capital’s residents are currently without electricity. There are no problems with water and heat supply, Klitschko said.