At least five people have been killed in Donetsk and Odessa as both sides continue a wave of escalating attacks that began on Friday.
Five people were killed in New Year’s Day attacks in Ukraine’s southern Odessa region and the Russian-occupied eastern city of Donetsk amid an escalating conflict between Moscow and Kiev.
Denis Pushilin, the head of the Russian-installed Donetsk region, said four people had died in Donetsk, accusing Ukraine of “massive bombing from multiple rocket launch systems.”
At least 14 people were injured, he added.
Meanwhile, Oleh Kiper, governor of the Odessa region, said one person had died after a Russian airstrike in Odessa.
Kiper said Ukraine’s air defense systems were busy repelling the attack with drones, but falling debris sparked several fires in residential buildings in different parts of the city and at least three people were injured.
A video on social media, posted by Odessa Mayor Henadii Trukhanov, showed him inspecting a damaged apartment with broken windows.
“They say that how you welcome the New Year is how you live the year,” Trujanov said in the publication.
“Well, this year Ukraine will break this rule: we will persevere and win.
The Ukrainian Air Force said the Russian airstrikes also targeted the Mykolaiv and Dnipro regions, as well as the city of Lviv.
Airstrikes have intensified since Friday, when Russia launched some 158 missiles and drones at major Ukrainian cities in a bombardment that killed at least 30 people and injured more than 140.
This was followed on Saturday by a Ukrainian attack on the Russian border town of Belgorod, in which at least 21 people were killed and 111 injured.
As Moscow vowed to retaliate, it launched a new aerial bombardment of Ukraine on Sunday, targeting Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city, with six missiles as well as drones.
Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war, which began when Russia sent its soldiers into Ukraine in February 2022 in a full-scale invasion of the country.
