Kyiv Hits Kursk After Massive Wave Of Deadly Russian Strikes On Ukraine

Ukraine launched a deadly missile attack on the Russian region of Kursk on December 20, just hours after Russia carried out a massive air assault on Kyiv during rush hour that killed one person and damaged a historic cathedral and other buildings in the capital, including six embassies.

Russia's Investigative Committee said an unspecified number of people were killed in the attack on Kursk involving U.S.-supplied HIMARS rockets on the town of Rylsk.

According to Mash Telegram channel, at least five people have been killed, and 26 others injured. The attack has destroyed several critical pieces of social infrastructure, including a pedagogical college, a cultural center, and a school.

The attack came shortly after Russian launched a barrage of missiles and drones at Kyiv and several other regions around Ukraine.

The whole of Ukraine was under a general air-raid alert for several hours as Russia launched eight missiles -- including hypersonic Kinzhal missiles and Iskander/KN-23 ballistic missiles -- on Kyiv alone, Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv's military administration, reported.

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Ukrainian cities and infrastructure continue to sustain regular Russian drone and missile strikes while outgunned and outmanned Ukrainian forces are facing difficulties in staving off Russia's increasingly rapid advance in the east.

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One person was killed by a strike in Kyiv's Holosiyiv district, while eyewitnesses reported several blasts in the city.

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Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko separately reported that falling debris from downed Russian drones fell on four of the capital's districts -- Holosiyiv, Solomyansk, Shevchenkivsk, and Dniprovsk -- wounding at least two people.

Kyiv restaurateur Nadir Ahundov voiced his outrage at the Russian strike that completely destroyed his restaurant.

"These subhuman [Russians], to drop such bombs on residential buildings," Ahundov told RFE/RL.

"I put my heart, my soul into [creating] this," he said, pointing to the trees outside the restaurnat. "These trees were small when I planted them. Look at them now -- those monsters knocked them down."

In Kherson, a 60-year-old man was killed in a Russian strike and two others, including an 86-year-old man, were wounded, regional Governor Roman Mrochko reported on Telegram.

Late on December 19, a Russian missile struck and badly damaged a two-story apartment building in the southeastern city of Kryviy Rih, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's hometown, wounding five people, including two pulled alive from under the rubble, officials said.

The attack also crippled the power supply in parts of the city of 600,000 and damaged a hospital, regional Governor Serhiy Lysak said.

In a statement on Telegram, Russia's Defense Ministry claimed that the strikes on December 20 were "in response" to Ukrainian attacks on Russian targets using Western-supplied weapons.

The latest wave of attacks from both sides came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested at his highly choreographed annual press conference a "high-tech duel" over Kyiv to prove that Russia's new hypersonic ballistic missile, dubbed Oreshnik, cannot be shot down by Western-supplied air defenses.

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"It would be interesting for us.... Let's conduct this experiment, this technological duel, and see the results. I think it would be useful for both us and the Americans," Putin said.

In reaction, Zelenskiy posted a message on X calling Putin a "dumbass."

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"People are dying, and he thinks it’s 'interesting'... Dumbass," Zelenskiy wrote.