Ukraine

Ukraine has declared New Year’s Day a national day of mourning after massive Russian air strikes against the capital Kyiv on Friday in which at least 28 people were killed. The attack was the deadliest in Kyiv in the nearly two-year war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has assured in his New Year’s address that in the new year, Russians will feel “the anger of Ukraine’s weapons production.” “Our pilots have already mastered flying F-16 fighter jets, and we will definitely see them in the air,” Zelenskiy said in his 20-minute New Year’s address.
      “No matter how many rockets the enemy fires at us, no matter how many merciless and massive attacks the enemy carries out in attempts to crush and intimidate Ukrainians and drive Ukraine underground, we will continue to rise,” the Zelenskiy said. The war escalated in the run-up to the New Year, with Ukraine also targeting the Russian border city of Belgorod, killing 24 people on Saturday.
      Ukraine’s military says it shot down 21 of 49 Russian rockets and drones early on New Year’s Eve. The attacks targeted the regions of Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia. /ritzau/Reuters/