The UK is sending hundreds of air defence missiles to Ukraine following Vladimier Putin's "latest wave of murderous airstrikes," Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has announced.
Russia launched 122 missiles and 36 drones against Ukrainian targets, killing at least 22 civilians in what military officials said was the biggest aerial barrage of the invasion so far.
Rishi Sunak joined international condemnation of Russian President Mr Putin on Friday after Russia launched the massive aerial barrage against Ukraine.
The Ukrainian air force intercepted 87 of the missiles and 27 of the Shahed-type drones overnight, officials said.
Mr Shapps said in a post on social media: "Putin's latest wave of murderous airstrikes are a desperate and futile attempt to regain momentum after the catastrophic loss of hundreds of thousands of conscripts and ahead of the humiliation of his three-day war entering a third calendar year.
"We continue to stand by Ukraine's defence. Which is why today we are sending hundreds of air defence missiles to restock British gifted air defence systems capable of striking down Russian drones and missiles with incredible accuracy."
The UK is moving rapidly to bolster Ukraine’s air defence, in the wake of Putin’s murderous air strikes.
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) December 29, 2023
Hundreds of British made air defence missiles are being sent to ensure @Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself from Putin’s barbaric bombardment. #SlavaUkraini pic.twitter.com/eoJ1pQPpe7
The Prime Minister added in a post on social media: "These widespread attacks on Ukraine's cities show Putin will stop at nothing to achieve his aim of eradicating freedom and democracy.
"We will not let him win.
"We must continue to stand with Ukraine - for as long as it takes."
These widespread attacks on Ukraine's cities show Putin will stop at nothing to achieve his aim of eradicating freedom and democracy.
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) December 29, 2023
We will not let him win.
We must continue to stand with Ukraine – for as long as it takes. https://t.co/cf6aDNwPjD
Fighting along the front line has been largely bogged down by winter weather after Ukraine's summer counteroffensive failed to make a significant breakthrough along the roughly 620-mile line of contact.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has spent recent weeks urging western allies to provide the country with more air defences to protect itself against such aerial attacks.
It comes as signs of war fatigue strain efforts to keep support in place.
Mr Zelensky said the Kremlin's forces used a wide variety of weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles.
"Today, Russia used nearly every type of weapon in its arsenal," Mr Zelensky said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on his official Telegram channel that it was “the most massive aerial attack” since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
According to the Ukrainian air force, the previous biggest assault was in November 2022 when Russia launched 96 missiles against Ukraine. This year, the biggest was 81 missiles on March 9, air force records show.
Western officials and analysts recently warned that Russia had limited its cruise missile strikes in recent months in an apparent effort to build up stockpiles for massive strikes during the winter, hoping to break the Ukrainians’ spirit.
Fighting along the front line is largely bogged down by winter weather after Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive failed to make a significant breakthrough along the roughly 1,000-kilometre (620-mile) line of contact.
Ukrainian officials have urged the country’s Western allies to provide it with more air defences to protect itself against aerial attacks like Friday’s one. Their appeals have come as signs of war fatigue strain efforts to keep support in place.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said Russia “apparently launched everything they have,” except for submarine-launched Kalibr missiles, in the attack.
The aerial attack that began Thursday and continued through the night hit six cities, including the capital, Kyiv, and other areas from east to west and north to south Ukraine, according to authorities.
Reports of deaths and damage came in from across the country.
Five people were killed and 20 injured in the eastern city of Dnipro where four maternity hospital patients were rescued from a fire, officials said.
In Odesa, on the southern coast, falling drone wreckage started a fire at a multi-story residential building, according to the regional head, Oleh Kiper. Two people were killed and 15, including two children, were injured in the course of the Odesa attack, he said.
The mayor of the western city of Lviv, Andrii Sadovyi, said one person was killed and eight injured and three schools and a kindergarten were damaged in a drone attack in the region.
Several dozen missiles were launched towards Kyiv during the night, with more than 30 of them intercepted, said Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv military administration. The attack started a fire at a warehouse in the capital’s Podil district where five people reportedly were pulled from the rubble. Three people were killed in the capital.
In northeastern Ukraine, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said the city was subjected to at least three waves of aerial attacks overnight that included S-300 and Kh-21 missile launches. One person was killed and at least nine injured, officials said.
