Ukraine’s military said Wednesday it destroyed 19 of the 20 drones launched by Russia in overnight attacks, but officials said falling debris wounded three people in the southern port of Odesa.
The military said most of the drones targeted the Odesa region. Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said debris struck residential buildings and damaged a gas pipeline.
The drone assault followed missile attacks Tuesday that wounded at least 17 people in the northeastern city of Kharkiv.
Kharkiv Regional Governor Oleh Synehubov said on Telegram that two Russian S-300 missiles struck the city center, including residential buildings.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov posted on Telegram that the missiles damaged at least 10 buildings and hit "precisely where there is no military infrastructure and precisely where there are in fact residences."
In the southern city of Odesa, a Russian drone attack injured at least three people and damaged several residential buildings, according to the Odesa regional governor.
The United Nations said in a new report Tuesday that Russian attacks brought an increase in civilian casualties in Ukraine in December.
The U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said the number of civilian casualties rose 26.5%, from 468 to 592 between November and December.
“Civilian casualties had been steadily decreasing in 2023 but the wave of attacks in late December and early January violently interrupted that trend,” said Danielle Bell, who heads the U.N. monitoring mission.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of “strong, enduring support for Ukraine” and a determination on the part of the Biden administration to continue military aid for Ukrainian forces.
Blinken’s comments came at the start of talks Tuesday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The top U.S. diplomat said the expression of support comes at a time when Ukraine is facing repeated Russian attacks on infrastructure and civilians.
“And we see that every day, but we also see the incredible courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people, the courage and resilience of your security forces,” Blinken said.
Zelenskyy thanked the United States for its support, including air defense systems that have been critical in helping Ukrainian forces defend the country from Russian drone and missile attacks.
Those attacks have included strikes on multiple Ukrainian cities, with even downed drones and missiles causing damage and injuries on the ground.
Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials have implored the U.S. and European allies to further bolster Ukraine’s air defenses, a request that has coincided with the drying up of U.S. funding for new rounds of aid.
The Biden administration has asked Congress for tens of billions of dollars in new aid for Ukraine as part of a larger security package that includes aid for Israel and U.S. border security funding. That measure has met resistance from some Republicans in Congress who want even more action on border security.
Some material for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
