15 killed in Russian aerial assault – DW – 02/01/2025

The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched around 46 missiles and 123 drones on several regions Saturday in an overnight attack.

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said Russia struck a residential building in the city of Poltava, which is about 120 kilometers (almost 75 miles) from the Russian border.

Ukrainian officials later said 11 people were killed in Poltava.

The ministry posted pictures on Telegram that show the floors of the building smashed and smoke rising from it. 

Poltava region’s acting governor said some 21 people were rescued from the building and firefighters remain at the site. Other buildings were damaged too.

Ukrainian officials added there was damage in the city of Zaporizhzhia in the southeast, Kharkiv and Sumy regions in the northeast, and Khmelnytskyi in the west.

Four people were reported killed in Kharkiv and Sumy. 

Zelenskyy says attack is evidence that Ukraine needs more support

“Last night, Russia attacked our cities using various types of weapons: missiles, attack drones, and aerial bombs,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding damage was caused in six regions.

“Each such terrorist attack proves that we need more support in defending ourselves against Russian terror. Every air defense system, every anti-missile weapon, saves lives,” he wrote on Telegram.

Russian attack on Odesa reportedly destroyed historic orchestra hall

A Russian missile attack on the center of southern Ukraine’s port city of Odesa, a UNESCO world heritage site, on Friday, also seriously damaged several buildings.

The mayor of Odesa said Saturday that the attack yesterday damaged the entrance, windows and interior of the historic Philharmonic Hall.

Russia continues rapid advance in Donetsk

Meanwhile, Russia said it captured the strategic hilltop city of Toretsk in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region after heavy fighting there for about two months.

The fall of the city comes after Russian forces took control of several towns and villages in the region in recent months.

Analysts say Moscow has been advancing in Donetsk at its fastest pace since 2022, rapidly capturing more ground by breaking through Ukrainian positions weakened by troop shortages. 

rm/wd (Reuters, AP)