Ukraine faces 'one of largest' Russian aerial assaults
www.dw.com

... Russia pounded Ukrainian energy infrastructure and other civilian targets with around 120 missiles and 90 drones on Sunday morning, forcing Kyiv to implement precautionary power cuts and even prompting neighboring Poland to scramble its air force.

In what he called "one of the largest air attacks" of the war so far, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russia had launched "drones and missiles against peaceful cities, sleeping civilians [and] critical infrastructure" across the country, including in some usually quieter western regions.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported dozens of cruise and ballistic missiles, some launched from strategic bombers, fired at targets nationwide, following on from waves of combat drones. ...

In total, the overnight Russian strikes left at least eight people dead and wounded around 20 more, according to Ukrainian officials.

Among the initial casualties were two women killed in the southern city of Mykolaiv, where six other people, including two children, were also injured, according to local military governor Vitalii Kim.

Kim said several homes, a tower block, a shopping mall and a row of parked cars had also been damaged, as well as unspecified infrastructure.

The death toll also included two people who were killed in the Odesa region, where the attack damaged energy infrastructure and disrupted power and water supplies, according to governor Vitalii Kim Oleh Kiper.

Two residential buildings reportedly caught fire in the capital, Kyiv, while explosions were also reported in Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, and Zelenskyy's hometown Kryvyi Rih, in central Ukraine. Social media footage showed Ukrainian air defenses in action in the Black Sea port of Odesa. ...

Arsenal of Autocracy: North Korea and Iran are arming Russia in Ukraine (January 2024)
www.atlanticcouncil.org

... Over the New Year holiday period, Russia launched some of the biggest bombardments of Ukrainian cities since the start of the full-scale invasion almost two years ago. These attacks had been widely expected, with Russia believed to have been actively stockpiling missiles and drones during the final few months of 2023. Nevertheless, the origin of some of the missiles used in Russia's latest air attacks has sparked considerable disquiet in Ukraine and throughout Western capitals.

In the days following these latest bombardments, the White House announced that Russia had used North Korean ballistic missiles to strike Ukraine. These claims were subsequently corroborated by senior Ukrainian officials. In a joint statement issued on January 9, the US, UK, EU, Australia, Germany, Canada and nearly 40 other partner nations condemned North Korea's export of ballistic missiles to Russia.

The delivery of North Korean ballistic missiles marks the latest escalation in the country's support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Reports of North Korean arms shipments to Russia first emerged in late 2022. In October 2023, US National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby announced that Pyongyang had delivered more than 1,000 containers of equipment and munitions to Russia. Speaking in late 2023, South Korean officials claimed North Korean military production facilities were operating "at maximum capacity" in order to meet Russian demand for armaments.

It is not clear what Russia is offering in exchange for the weapons it is receiving from North Korea, but there are fears that Moscow is providing the heavily sanctioned nation with access to new military technologies. During a September 2023 visit to Russia, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a number of military sites showcasing advanced weapons systems.

North Korea is not the only authoritarian regime currently providing Putin with weapons for the invasion of Ukraine. Iran has supplied Russia with large quantities of attack drones as well as artillery shells, while Russia is using Iranian drone technologies to establish large-scale domestic production of attack drones for use in Ukraine. Recent reports indicate this cooperation is now intensifying. Russia is poised to receive Iranian ballistic missiles, with Iran also delivering upgraded drones. ...