According to Telegram reports given by Ukrainian officials, Russia attacked and damaged the city of Kyiv and the residential areas of Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine, just a few hours before New Year’s Eve. The amount of damage and the magnitude of attack are not clear yet. Ukraine’s military administration said via a Telegram message that the country’s air defense system in the nearby region of Kyiv was busy till late on Saturday. The reason was to counter the expected drone attack by Russia. Ukraine killed one Russian in a bombing and gunned down 32 Russian drones.

Kharkiv’s Mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said that work is being done to determine the loss of lives as a result of Russian bombardment. According to the figures stated by the mayor, 21 people were injured on Saturday due to the twin Russian missile attack. He declared the people of Kharkiv to be unbreakable and invincible as they were not afraid of the Russian attempt to intimidate their city on New Year’s Eve. He also posted a number of pictures of the targeted residential buildings in which one can see firefighters trying to put out the fire.

Russia killed 31 Ukrainians on Friday in the biggest air strike during the war, while on Saturday, Ukraine killed 20 Russians in a counterattack in Belgorod, Russia. Hence, making the last week of 2023 one of the weeks with the highest number of attacks on both sides.

On the question whether Joe Biden will communicate with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the latest attacks on Ukraine or not, the USA President replied that he is in continuous contact with his Ukrainian counterpart.