Ukraine war live updates: Russia unleashes missile, drone attacks across Ukraine; Putin courts families of dead servicemen

Ukraine’s air force said it destroyed 18 out of 59 missiles of different types during a wave of Russian strikes early Monday.

“On the night of January 8, 2024, the enemy launched a massive attack on Ukraine, using cruise, aviation, ballistic, anti-aircraft guided missiles and attack UAVs,” the air force said.

As well as UAVs, or drones, Russia used hypersonic ballistic missiles known as “Kinzhal” (which means “dagger”) missiles, the air force said.

“Critical infrastructure facilities, industrial civilian and military facilities were attacked. Military administrations will report on the consequences and victims on the ground,” the air force said on Telegram.

“This time the enemy attacked different regions of Ukraine. In particular, missiles flying along a ballistic trajectory are aimed at Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia and Khmelnytskyi regions,” it added.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Monday morning that “a group strike was carried out with high-precision long-range sea- and air-based weapons, including the Kinzhal hypersonic missile system, against the facilities of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine,” the ministry stated, news agency Tass reported.

— Holly Ellyatt

Four regions in Ukraine have come under attack Monday morning, leaving two civilians dead, the country’s interior minister said.

“This morning, the Russian occupiers attacked 4 regions of Ukraine with missiles. One person died, there are victims,” Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram.

Klymenko said rescuers and police were working at six locations in the southern Zaporizhzhia region after missiles hit residential areas. According to operational information, three people were injured, he said.

In Novomoskovsk in the Dnipropetrovsk region, 20 people, including four children, were injured in strikes while one person died when a house was destroyed in the Kryvorizkyy district. “A private house was also destroyed in Kryvyi Rih – three people may be under the rubble. The shopping and entertainment centre was also destroyed,” Klymenko said.

The city of Kharkiv region was attacked at least four times, the official said, damaging a business and educational institution and injuring one person.

Several explosions were heard in the Khmelnytskyi region, Klymenko added, with rescue workers and police officers working at the scene of the attacks. “We are clarifying information about the victims,” he said. CNBC was unable to verify the information in Klymenko’s comments.

The latest attacks come after an intensification of Russian strikes around the new year period. A spokesperson for Ukraine’s armed forces said Monday that Russian forces had launched about 125 missile attacks and more than 400 airstrikes targeting Ukraine over the last week, news outlet Ukrinform reported.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russia attacked Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine and Kharkiv in the northeast in the early hours of Monday morning, regional officials said.

“As a result of a combined attack of cruise and ballistic missiles launched from different directions, a total of 5 explosions rang out in the regional center,” Yuriy Malashko, the head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, said on Telegram.

“It is known that missiles hit residential areas — in open areas and near houses. As of 08:00, two people have been reported injured as a result of the missile attack — a man and a woman. The information is being updated.”

Acting Zaporizhzhia Mayor Anatoliy Kurtiev said civilians were injured in the attack. “Russian terrorists are attacking Zaporizhzhia. Unfortunately, there are victims,” he wrote on Telegram. Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians.

Russian forces also attacked industrial facilities in the city of Kharkiv Monday morning, leaving a woman injured, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram.

Kharkiv was the target of repeated attacks last week as Russia and Ukraine exchanged retaliatory strikes on the city and Belgorod, on Russian territory. Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Monday that a missile was intercepted over Belgorod overnight.

— Holly Ellyatt

The Russian National Guard, Rosgvardia, is bolstering its resources and personnel “as a result of upheavals in Russia’s internal security scene” in light of the war in Ukraine, Britain’s Ministry of Defense noted Sunday.

Elements of private military company Wagner Group came under Rosgvardia from October 2023, following an ill-fated mutiny last summer that was succeeded by the death of Wagner’s founder Yevgeny Prigozhin.

On Jan. 3, the “Vostok” battalion from the pro-Russian, separatist Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) in eastern Ukraine was also subsumed under Rosgvardia.

“Moscow has also been advancing its efforts to dissolve the DNR’s “Kaskad” group, which specialises in drone operations, and subordinate parts of it to Rosgvardia,” the British Defense Ministry said in an intelligence update on X on Sunday.

“In July 2023, the Russian State Duma authorised Rosgvardiya to employ heavier weaponry. New capabilities, along with its augmentation with experienced veterans from other groups, will likely represent a significant increase in combat effectiveness,” the ministry added.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russian President Vladimir Putin courted the families of dead Russian servicemen over the weekend as he continued attempts to burnish his leadership credentials ahead of the March 2024 presidential election.

Putin met family members of Russian service personnel who died fighting in Ukraine at his residence in Novo-Ogaryovo on Saturday, ahead of Orthodox Christmas celebrations. Praising the service personnel’s heroism, Putin said they defended Russia’s interests and that the government would support their families.

“Many of our men, our courageous, heroic men, the soldiers of Russia are defending right now the interests of our country with weapons in their hands, on this holiday,” Putin said at the meeting.

“I would like our meeting to be a clear and understandable signal … that my colleagues, I repeat, at every level of government and governance, should always be with you, so that you always feel that there are people around you who can support you, help you, and come to your aid if you need it,” Putin added.

Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War noted that Putin recently attended similar events during which “he presented himself as a gracious leader who cares about the well-being of Russian military personnel and paraded his power to fulfil servicemen’s requests and deal with issues.”

Presenting that image is pressing for Putin as he campaigns for reelection in the March 17 presidential election, which he’s widely expected to win.

“Putin is likely using these recurring, publicized meetings as part of his election campaign, as Russian servicemen and their family members comprise a sizable constituency, and their public support for Putin is vital for the Kremlin’s ability to present the Russian population as largely in support of the war in Ukraine,” the ISW noted in analysis Sunday.

— Holly Ellyatt