Russia vows revenge as toll from Belgorod strikes rises
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Russian rescuers carrying an injured woman after shelling in Belgorod, Russia, in a handout photo.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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MOSCOW – Russia accused Ukraine of having targeted civilians in the city of Belgorod with missiles and rockets, killing at least 18 people and wounding dozens more.
It was an attack that would “not go unpunished”, Moscow said.
As Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry issued a statement updating the Belgorod toll, a United Nations Security Council meeting called by Moscow to discuss the attacks got under way in New York.
The attack came a day after Ukraine said a barrage of Russian missile strikes on several cities killed at least 39 people, wounding dozens more.
Fresh strikes on Dec 30 caused more casualties in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv,
A handout photo made available by the Russian Emergency Ministry press service shows Russian firefighters at work after the shelling in Belgorod.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Belgorod lies about 30km from the border with Ukraine and has been repeatedly struck by what Moscow says is indiscriminate shelling by Kyiv’s forces.
Unverified footage showed a street strewn with debris and smoke billowing from burnt-out cars in the city’s centre.
AFP was not able to immediately verify the circumstances of the strike, one of the deadliest on Russian soil since Moscow launched hostilities against Ukraine in February 2022.
Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky are due to give New Year’s Eve speeches on Dec 31, as the conflict approaches its second anniversary in February.
‘Will not go unpunished’
Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said the death toll included at least two children, with children also among the 111 wounded.
The Kremlin said Mr Putin had been briefed on the incident, while the Russian Defence Ministry warned the strike would “not go unpunished”.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry, which has repeatedly denounced Western arms deliveries to Ukraine, accused the United States and Britain of “inciting the Kyiv regime to commit terrorist actions”.
Ukrainian officials did not immediately comment.
In Ukraine, rescuers continued to search through rubble on Dec 30, a day after Russian strikes killed at least 39 people, one of the fiercest attacks since the early days of the conflict.
Schools, a maternity hospital, shopping arcades and blocks of flats were among the buildings hit in Friday’s barrage, which triggered international condemnation.
“Work is still under way to eliminate the consequences of yesterday’s Russian attack,” Mr Zelensky said.
Three more people were killed by Russian strikes across Ukraine on Dec 30, local officials said.
The prosecutor’s office said Russian rocket attacks on Kharkiv on the evening of Dec 30 wounded 20 people after hitting a range of buildings including a hotel, a kindergarten, shops and restaurants.
The casualties included a British national, initially identified as a journalist, who was in fact a security adviser to a German media team, the statement added.
Jan 1 will be declared a day of mourning in the capital Kyiv, where at least 17 people were killed, city officials said.
Russia’s army said it had “carried out 50 group strikes and one massive strike” on military facilities in Ukraine over the past week, adding that “all targets were hit”.
The United Nations condemned the attacks
Missile ‘entered’ Polish airspace
Poland reported that a Russian missile briefly passed through its airspace
After speaking to Polish President Andrzej Duda, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance “stands in solidarity” with Poland, adding: “Nato remains vigilant.”
In the face of sustained Russian assaults, Ukraine is urging Western allies to maintain military support.
US President Joe Biden on Dec 29 called on Congress to overcome its division to approve new aid
“Unless Congress takes urgent action in the new year, we will not be able to continue sending the weapons and vital air defence systems Ukraine needs to protect its people,” he said.
Britain announced it would send hundreds more air-defence missiles to Kyiv, after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared: “We must continue to stand with Ukraine – for as long as it takes.” AFP
