Ukraine's two largest cities, Kyiv and Kharkiv, came under attack from Russian hypersonic missiles on January 2, killing at least five people and injuring almost 100.
Russian Missiles Strike Ukraine's Largest Cities
A view of the upper floor of a residential building ablaze after a Russian missile attack on Kyiv on January 2.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said at least five people were killed and scores injured in a barrage of missiles and drones fired by Moscow's military on January 2 that Kyiv said was similar in scale to a massive Russian attack just days earlier.
A firefighter evacuates a local resident from a burning residential building in Kyiv.
Russia reportedly fired almost 100 missiles of various types, including Kinzhal hypersonic ballistic missiles. Zelenskiy said that at least 70 missiles were shot down, almost all of them in the Kyiv area. Western-supplied air defense systems such as Patriots and NASAMS had saved hundreds of lives, he added.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko surveys the devastation at a heavily damaged residential building.
The barrage extended Russia's escalated attacks on Ukraine that began on December 29 with its largest single assault on Ukraine since the war started that left at least 41 civilians dead.
A firefighter carries an injured man from his damaged home in Kyiv.
Rescuers remove the body of a Kyiv resident killed during the attack.
Motorists in the Ukrainian capital drive nearby as Ukrainian firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire after a missile strike.
Air raid sirens blared for nearly four hours as many residents sought shelter in the city's subway.
Fires and damage, mainly caused by falling missile debris, were reported in eight of Kyiv's 10 districts.
Flames and smoke rise above a residential building following the attack on Kyiv.
A doll lies on the ground near a damaged residential area in Kyiv.
The northeastern city of Kharkiv -- the second-largest city in Ukraine -- was also struck with hypersonic Kinzhal missiles killing at least one person and injuring at least 20 people.
Rescuers carry a wounded woman out of a damaged residential building in Kharkiv.
The Kh-47M2 Kinzhal is a hypersonic ballistic missile that is launched from the air. Russian forces rarely use such costly missiles against Ukraine due to their limited supply.
Several Ukrainian military experts in Kharkiv work in a crater outside a damaged residential building.
The attacks come a day after Russia launched a record 90 Shahed-type drones across Ukraine during the early hours of the new year. Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country would “intensify” its attacks on its neighbor.
A wounded Kharkiv resident examines his destroyed car outside a residential building...
...while another leaves with a cat.
A Christmas tree leans precariously inside a damaged apartment in Kharkiv.