Russia said on Monday its air defenses had shot down eight ballistic missiles fired by Ukraine, as tensions rose over Kiev’s use of Western-supplied long-range weapons against Russia.
Ukraine also targeted a Russian fuel depot, while Russian air strikes injured more than 30 people in Odessa and Kharkiv, the latest wave of attacks.
The nearly three-year-old war escalated dramatically last week, with both sides deploying new weapons as they try to gain ground on the battlefield before Donald Trump enters the White House in January.
The Republican has vowed to secure a peace deal, though has not said how, and is critical of U.S. aid to Kiev.
Ukraine last week fired US-made ATACMS ballistic missiles at Russia for the first time after receiving approval from Washington, drawing a sharp reaction from Moscow.
“Air defense forces shot down eight ballistic missiles,” the Russian Defense Ministry said at a daily briefing on Monday, without specifying what type of missiles were used or where they were shot down.
Moscow and Kiev have stepped up their use of long-range missiles after the United States granted Ukraine long-requested approval to use the weapons against Russia.
Moscow fired an experimental hypersonic missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro last Thursday, with President Vladimir Putin warning that the weapon, which he called Oreshnik, could be used again in war.
Tensions escalated Monday after a Ukrainian drone strike on the Russian border town of Shebekino killed one civilian, according to local governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
Another person was injured in the attack, he said, while several apartments were damaged in separate Ukrainian shelling.
Russian fuel depot set on fire
Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones attacked a fuel facility in the Russian region of Kaluga, a source in Ukrainian military intelligence said, in Kiev’s latest attack on Moscow’s energy sites.
The claim came as Ukrainian officials said about two dozen people were injured in a Russian missile strike in the eastern city of Kharkiv.
“As a result of an operation by Ukraine’s defense intelligence team, a fuel and energy facility in Russia’s Kaluga region was hit overnight,” the source said.
The Russian governor of Kaluga, located just south of the capital Moscow, said air defense systems in the area had downed eight drones and confirmed that a fire had broken out at an “industrial enterprise.”
Unverified images on social media of the alleged attack showed tracer ammunition in the night sky and a large fire next to two industrial chimneys.
“The target of the attack was an oil depot of Kalugnefteprodukt JSC, which is involved in supporting Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine,” the source said.
Attacks ‘can be prevented’
On Monday, AFP journalists in Kharkiv saw residents and rescue workers assessing damage and removing debris after the Russian attack on the city, which has been hit by repeated bombardment since the Kremlin launched its offensive in early 2022 .
Mayor Igor Terekhov said 23 people were injured and about 40 buildings, including official or administrative offices, were damaged.
The Ukrainian Air Force said it had shot down 71 drones, including an Iranian-designed Shahid launched by the Russian military, while another 71 were “probably” shot down using electronic jamming defensive systems.
“Earlier, Shaheed strikes were carried out only at night. Now the enemy is using attack UAVs even during the day,” the Air Force said in a statement.
Meanwhile, officials in the southern port city of Odessa said the Russian attack had damaged infrastructure and injured 11 people.
“These Russian attacks on Ukrainian life can be stopped – through pressure, sanctions, blocking the occupiers’ access to the components they use to make these instruments of terror, military aid packages to Ukraine, and A determination that must be unbreakable,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
