Faisal Ali
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy delivered his first wartime New Year address moments before Russia unleashed a wave of new rocket strikes on Kyiv. “I wish one thing to all of us now - the Victory,” Zelenskiy said, adding his hope that all of Ukraine, within its 1991 borders, would be recaptured this year. “We are ready to fight for it. That is why each of us is here. That is why I am here.” He concluded the video message with his signature sign off, “Glory to Ukraine!”
The Associated Press reports that the death toll from Russia’s New Year’s Eve assault on Ukraine has risen to at least three:
Night-time shelling that battered parts of the southern city of Kherson killed one person, wounded another and blew out hundreds of windows in a children’s hospital, according to deputy presidential chief of staff Kyrylo Tymoshenko.Meanwhile, a 22-year-old woman injured in a rocket attack in eastern Khmelnytskyi later died of her wounds, the city’s mayor Oleksandr Symchyshyn said.Multiple blasts rocked Kyiv and other areas of Ukraine on Saturday and through the night, injuring dozens, a sign that the pace of Russia attacks had picked up. Ukrainian officials claimed Russia was now deliberately targeting civilians, seeking to create a climate of fear and dent morale.The blasts came just 36 hours after Russia launched a barrage of missiles on Thursday to damage energy infrastructure facilities, an unusually quickened rhythm that alarmed Ukrainian officials.First lady Olena Zelenska expressed outrage that such massive missile attacks could come just before New Year’s Eve celebrations.“Ruining lives of others is a disgusting habit of our neighbours,” she said.On Saturday in Kyiv, an AP photographer at the scene of the explosions saw the body of a woman as her husband and son stood nearby. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two schools were also damaged, including a kindergarten.Some Ukrainians defied the danger, however, to return to the country to reunite with families for the holidays.