A state of alert was declared in Kyiv as it was subjected to an air attack today, Monday, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that dozens of Russian drones had been shot down, while Russia said that it had targeted Ukrainian military sites.
Al-Jazeera correspondent said that Kyiv has been exposed to successive waves of Iranian missiles and drones for 4 days, adding that the authorities are constantly talking about targeting the Russian bombing of infrastructure.
And the military administration in Kyiv confirmed the power outage in parts of the capital due to the Russian bombing, and demanded that residents stay in shelters.
And she added - in a statement posted on social media - "The danger continues in the Kyiv region! Our air defense forces are working on the targets. The main thing now is to remain calm and stay in shelters until the alarm stops."
And after midnight, the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, said that all emergency services were on their way to the place, speaking of hearing an explosion in the Desnyansky district.
Klitschko added that a young man was taken to hospital in Desnyansky after the wreckage of a drone fell on a road there and damaged a building.
Dropping Russian drones
In turn, Zelensky said in a video speech, "We shot down 45 Shahed drones on the first day of the New Year. I express my gratitude and appreciation to the Ukrainian Air Force."
The Ukrainian president considered that the "miserable Russian terrorists" opened the year with this result, and that cohesion and unity among the Ukrainians are only contradicted by the fear hanging over Russia, as he described it.
He added, "They are afraid, and they have the right to be afraid, because they will be defeated and their marches and missiles will not avail them, because we are one unit. They will not be able to steal our independence from us, and we will not concede anything to them."
For his part, Ukrainian presidential advisor Andriy Yermak said that ground defenses and air forces are breaking Russia's plans to attack our infrastructure, adding, "We will win the air battle against Russia."
Earlier, the Ukrainian Army General Staff announced that Russia carried out 35 air strikes on Sunday using the Iranian "Shahed 136", confirming the destruction of all the drones.
Russia: We killed hundreds of soldiers
On the other hand, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that it had bombed Ukrainian warehouses, factories, and launch centers for attack drones.
The ministry's spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, added that 300 Ukrainian soldiers were eliminated in several axes, and that Ukraine's plans to carry out "terrorist attacks" against Russia in the near future were thwarted.
The Russian army also announced the continuation of its attack on the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, where most of the battles are currently concentrated.
In Kherson province (south), the Ukrainian military administration said that Russian forces had bombed the territory of the province about 40 times during the past hours.
The military administration added that the Russian bombing resulted in the death of a civilian, the injury of others, and material damage to a hospital in the city.
The battles are still going on in several axes in the Donbass region (east), especially around the city of Bakhmut, which is located in the Donetsk region, and the Russian forces are seeking to control it, and the fighting continues in parts of the Kherson province.
Meanwhile, the governor of the Russian province of Bryansk announced that one of the energy facilities had been damaged and power was cut off in the town of Klimovo, after an attack by a Ukrainian march.
On the other hand, the Russian Air Force returned 82 Russian soldiers who were released by Ukraine, and the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement, "As a result of the negotiation process, 82 Russian soldiers who were in mortal danger were returned."
According to the Ministry of Defense, the released soldiers will be transferred to Moscow for treatment and rehabilitation at the department's medical institutions.