According to the Ukrainian military, pro-Russian military bloggers, and former officials, an apparent Ukrainian strike in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine appeared to have killed a significant number of Russian troops residing adjacent to an ammunition depot.
Both Ukrainian and pro-Russian accounts claim that the strike occurred at Makiivka, in the Donetsk region, just after midnight on Sunday, New Year’s Day, at a vocational school housing Russian conscripts.
The attack has led to vocal criticism of the Russian military from pro-Russian military bloggers, who claimed that the troops lacked protection and were reportedly being quartered next to a large cache of ammunition, which is said to have exploded when Ukrainian HIMARS rockets hit the school.
The Ukrainian military claimed that around 400 Russian soldiers were killed and 300 were wounded, without directly acknowledging a role. CNN cannot independently confirm those numbers or the weapons used in the strike. Some pro-Russian military bloggers have also estimated that the number of dead and wounded could run in the hundreds.
The Russian Ministry of Defense on Monday acknowledged the attack and claimed that “63 Russian servicemen” died.
Video reportedly from the scene of the attack is circulating widely on Telegram, including on an official Ukrainian military channel. It shows a pile of smoking rubble, in which almost no part of the building appears to be standing.
“Greetings and congratulations” to the separatists and conscripts who “were brought to the occupied Makiivka and crammed into the building of vocational school,” the Strategic Communications Directorate of the Chief Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Telegram. “Santa packed around 400 corpses of [Russian soldiers] in bags.”
The Russian Ministry of Defense said that the Ukrainian attack used HIMARS rockets.
Daniil Bezsonov, a former official in the Russia-backed Donetsk administration, said on Telegram that “apparently, the high command is still unaware of the capabilities of this weapon.”
A Russian propagandist who blogs about the war effort on Telegram, Igor Girkin, claimed that the building was almost completely destroyed by the secondary detonation of ammunition stores.
Girkin has long decried Russian generals whom he claims direct the war effort far from the frontline. Girkin was previously minister of defense of the self-proclaimed, Russian-backed Donetsk People’s Republic, and was found guilty by a Dutch court of mass murder for his involvement in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014.
Sergey Markov, another pro-Russian military blogger, said there was “a great deal of sloppiness” on the part of the Russian command.
Boris Rozhin, who also blogs about the war effort under the nickname Colonelcassad, said that “incompetence and an inability to grasp the experience of war continue to be a serious problem.”9:22 a.m. ET, January 2, 2023
Ukraine waiting for first portion of $19 billion aid package from EU, Zelensky says
From CNN’s Allegra Goodwin and Victoria Butenko
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that Ukraine was waiting for the first tranche of a $19 billion support package from the European Union in January, following a call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
He added in a tweet that Ukraine was also awaiting the first “batch of LED-lamps school buses, generators and modular houses.”
“We feel support and will win together,” Zelensky finished.
Von der Leyen tweeted that she had conveyed her “wholehearted support and best wishes for 2023 to the Ukrainian people,” to Zelensky on their first call of the new year.
“The EU stands by you, for as long as it takes. We support your heroic struggle. A fight for freedom and against brutal aggression,” she said.9:03 a.m. ET, January 2, 2023
It’s mid-afternoon in Kyiv. Here’s what you need to know
Five people have been injured by a Russian attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Beryslav, and another person was injured in Kyiv Monday amid strikes which have left the Ukrainian capital struggling to maintain electricity supply.
Here are the latest headlines:
- Strikes on Beryslav:Five people have been injured by alleged Russian tank fire on a market in the southern Ukrainian town of Beryslav, according to the regional governor. “Presumably, the fire was conducted from a tank from the temporarily occupied Kakhovka,” said Yaroslav Yanushevych, governor of Kherson region, where Beryslav is located, on his official Telegram channel. Kakhovka is on the opposite side of the Dnipro River.
- Russian attack wounds one in Kyiv: One man was injured early Monday as a result of a Russian attack on Ukraine’s capital. The 19-year-old man was hospitalized after suffering a lacerated foot while in an eighth-floor apartment in Kyiv’s Desnianskyi district.
- Second victim from Saturday strikes: A 46-year-old man who was injured by a Russian attack on Kyiv on Saturday has died in hospital, according to city mayor Vitaly Klitschko. Another person died and 20 others were injured in Saturday’s explosions, Klitschko said.
- Kyiv struggling to maintain electricity: The capital was experiencing power outages Monday, after overnight strikes damaged energy infrastructure facilities in the city, said Klitschko. Some heat supply facilities were disconnected from the power supply, but the city’s water supply remains normal, he added. Kyiv authorities are urging residents to reduce their electricity consumption after the third day of Russian attacks damaged infrastructure.
- Zelensky hails “unity” of Ukraine: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky used his first address of the year to underline the “sense of unity” in the country, and contrast it with the “fear” he said is felt in Russia. “Our sense of unity, authenticity, life itself – all this contrasts dramatically with the fear that prevails in Russia,” said Zelensky in an address published Sunday evening local time.
- Russia reportedly takes down Ukrainian drone: Russian air defenses downed a Ukrainian reconnaissance drone approaching the southwestern Russian city of Voronezh on Sunday night, Russian state news agency TASS reported Monday, quoting local authorities. There were no reports of casualties or damage, according to TASS, quoting the regional government.
7:02 a.m. ET, January 2, 2023
Russian air defenses reportedly down Ukrainian drone near city of Voronezh
From CNN’s Radina Gigova
Russian air defenses downed a Ukrainian drone approaching the southwestern Russian city of Voronezh on Sunday night, Russian state news agency TASS reported Monday, quoting local authorities.
“Last night, air defenses detected and downed a small reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle approaching Voronezh, which had been launched from Ukraine,” a statement from the regional government reads, as quoted by TASS.
There were no reports of casualties or damage, according to TASS, quoting the regional government.
Voronezh is located in southwestern Russia.
CNN has not been able to independently verify the TASS reporting.6:41 a.m. ET, January 2, 2023
One injured in Monday’s strikes on Kyiv
From CNN’s Olga Voitovych in Kyiv
One man was injured early Monday as a result of a Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, according to the State Emergency Service (SES) of Ukraine.
The 19-year-old man was hospitalized after suffering a lacerated foot while in an eighth-floor apartment in Kyiv’s Desnianskyi district.
“Firefighters of the nearest fire and rescue units immediately arrived at the scene,” the SES said on its official Telegram channel.
“Upon arrival, the firefighters found out that as a result of the rocket fragments falling on the roadway, balconies and windows on 3, 4, 6 floors of a 9-story residential building were damaged.”
The Ukrainian military claimed to have shot down 39 Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones overnight into Monday, but said that debris had nonetheless damaged infrastructure facilities and residential buildings.4:52 a.m. ET, January 2, 2023
Five injured by Russian attack on market in southern Ukrainian town of Beryslav
From CNN’s Olga Voitovych
Five people have been injured by alleged Russian tank fire on a market in the southern Ukrainian town of Beryslav, according to the regional governor.
“This morning Russians attacked the center of Beryslav – they shelled the city market,” said Yaroslav Yanushevych, governor of Kherson region, where Beryslav is located, on his official Telegram channel.
“Presumably, the fire was conducted from a tank from the temporarily occupied Kakhovka,” he added. Kakhovka is on the opposite side of the Dnipro River.
Of the five people injured, three are in critical condition, Beryslav said.
On Sunday, one person was killed and four injured by Russian attacks across the Ukrainian-controlled portions of the Kherson region, according to Beryslav.
Russian forces attacked the region 71 times on Sunday, he said, using artillery, multiple-launch rocket launchers (MLRS), mortars and tanks.4:27 a.m. ET, January 2, 2023
Kyiv authorities urge sparing electricity use after Russian strikes damage energy infrastructure
From CNN’s Olga Voitovych and Mick Krever
Authorities in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv are urging residents to reduce their electricity consumption after a third day of Russian attacks damaged infrastructure facilities.
On Monday, energy company DTEK said that it had been forced to implement emergency power cuts, and Oleksii Kuleba, head of Kyiv regional military administration, called on residents of the capital to keep an eye on their energy use.
“We are currently observing an increase in electricity consumption and excessive load on the grid,” Kuleba said on Telegram. “Therefore, it is important not to forget about reasonable consumption of electricity – to use energy-intensive devices in turn and to use electricity sparingly.”
The Ukrainian military claimed to have shot down 39 Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones overnight into Monday, but said that debris had nonetheless damaged infrastructure facilities.
Eleven private houses were also damaged by falling debris, according to Kuleba.
However the Prosecutor’s General Office of Ukraine said that there do not appear to have been any casualties.
“Prosecutors and investigators are working at the scene to document violations of international humanitarian law by the aggressor country,” the office said in a statement.4:43 a.m. ET, January 2, 2023
Zelensky hails “sense of unity” in first address of 2023
From CNN’s Jack Guy
![Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivers his first address of the year on January 1.](https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/digital-images/org/d1dd93d7-40fc-4d7c-9d2a-401e3892e119.png)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky used his first address of the year to underline the “sense of unity” in the country, and contrast it with the “fear” he said is felt in Russia.
“Our sense of unity, authenticity, life itself – all this contrasts dramatically with the fear that prevails in Russia,” said Zelensky in an address published Sunday evening local time.
“They are afraid. You can feel it. And they are right to be afraid. Because they are losing. Drones, missiles, anything else will not help them. Because we are together. And they are together only with fear.”
Zelensky congratulated Ukrainian forces for shooting down 45 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia on the first night of the year
“Russian terrorists were pathetic, and they entered this year staying the same. Our defenders were awesome, and on January 1 they showed themselves very well,” he said.
Zelensky went on to thank “everyone who is fighting the enemy at the frontline every day and every night,” as well as energy and utility workers restoring infrastructure damaged by Russian strikes.
“And it is very important how all Ukrainians recharged their inner energy this New Year’s Eve,” said Zelensky.
“And how we thanked our warriors. How we thanked our loved ones. How millions of times all over Ukraine, all over the free world, our wish – the wish of victory – has sounded and still sounds.”3:48 a.m. ET, January 2, 2023
Second victim of New Year’s Eve strikes on Kyiv dies in hospital
From CNN’s Olga Voitovych, Mayumi Maruyama, Yulia Kesaieva and Gul Tuysuz
A 46-year-old man who was injured by a Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital on Saturday has died in hospital, according to city mayor Vitaly Klitschko.
“One of the injured as a result of the Russian attack on the capital on December 31 died this morning,” Klitschko said on his official Telegram channel. “The 46-year-old man was in intensive care in serious condition.”
Another person died and 20 others were injured in Saturday’s explosions, Klitschko said.
Out of the injured, 14 were hospitalized, while six others were provided with medical assistance on the spot, he said.
Several school buildings in the capital suffered severe damage from the explosions, the mayor added.