By Stanislav DOSHCHITSYN
KYIV, Ukraine, Jan 8, 2024 (AFP) – Four people were killed in a “massive” wave of Russian strikes across Ukraine Monday, officials said, as authorities in the Russian border city of Belgorod evacuated hundreds due to Ukrainian shelling.
As the war approaches its second anniversary, both Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of causing dozens of civilian casualties in a sharp escalation of attacks.
“Overnight on 8 January, 2024, the enemy launched a massive attack on Ukraine,” Ukraine’s air force said on social media.
Russia launched 51 missiles in all, 18 of which were shot down, it added.
Russian missiles hit a shopping centre and high-rise buildings in President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih, killing one person, deputy head of the presidency Oleksiy Kuleba said.
“In Kryvyi Rih, there are many breakages in power grids, there are power outages, and electric transport does not work,” he said.
A separate missile attack in the western region of Khmelnytsky killed two people, officials said, while an elderly woman in Kharkiv region died after being pulled from the rubble of her home.
Russia said it had only struck “military” targets in its latest defence ministry briefing.
– Unprecedented evacuations –
The strikes came as Russia moved some 300 people from the border city of Belgorod due to Ukrainian shelling, the biggest evacuation from a major Russian city since the conflict began.
Kyiv’s forces have launched waves of deadly strikes on Belgorod, which lies less than 20 miles (32 kilometres) from the Ukrainian border.
Some 300 residents who decided to leave are now being housed in temporary accommodation in the towns of Stary Oskol, Gubkin and the Korochansky district, further from the border, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
“Over the past 24 hours we received 1,300 requests to send Belgorod children to school camps away from the city in other regions,” he added.
The Kremlin has tried to maintain a semblance of normalcy on the home front, but recent strikes on Belgorod have brought the Ukraine conflict closer to home for many Russians.
On December 30, Ukrainian shelling of the city killed 25 people, prompting schools to shut for an extended period.
Moscow vowed to intensify strikes on Ukraine in response to the attack, the deadliest in Russia since the start of the war in February 2022.
– ‘They’re trying to destroy us’ –
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa paid a surprise visit to Kyiv Sunday, where she said Tokyo was “determined” to keep supporting Ukraine.
Kamikawa, the first high-level foreign official to visit Kyiv this year, announced new deliveries of defence equipment and discussed Tokyo’s plans to host a February conference to promote Ukraine’s economic reconstruction.
“Japan is determined to support Ukraine so that peace can return to Ukraine,” Kamikawa told a press conference with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba held in a bomb shelter as an air raid siren rang out.
“I once again strongly condemn Russia’s missile and drone attacks, particularly on New Year’s Day,” said Kamikawa.
She said Tokyo would “allocate” $37 million (34 million euro) to provide Ukraine with a drone detection system. It will also supply five generators to help Ukraine “survive” another winter.
Kuleba said Kyiv was thankful for Japan’s decision last year to provide Ukraine with F-16s jets, but said the country also needed air defence systems.
“Every day, Ukrainian cities are destroyed by Russian missiles and drones. They cannot capture us, so they are trying to destroy us,” he said.