January 2, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

One man was injured early Monday as a result of a Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, according to the State Emergency Service (SES) of Ukraine.

The 19-year-old man was hospitalized after suffering a lacerated foot while in an eighth-floor apartment in Kyiv’s Desnianskyi district.

“Firefighters of the nearest fire and rescue units immediately arrived at the scene,” the SES said on its official Telegram channel.

“Upon arrival, the firefighters found out that as a result of the rocket fragments falling on the roadway, balconies and windows on 3, 4, 6 floors of a 9-story residential building were damaged.”

The Ukrainian military claimed to have shot down 39 Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones overnight into Monday, but said that debris had nonetheless damaged infrastructure facilities and residential buildings.

Five people have been injured by alleged Russian tank fire on a market in the southern Ukrainian town of Beryslav, according to the regional governor.

“This morning Russians attacked the center of Beryslav – they shelled the city market,” said Yaroslav Yanushevych, governor of Kherson region, where Beryslav is located, on his official Telegram channel.

“Presumably, the fire was conducted from a tank from the temporarily occupied Kakhovka,” he added. Kakhovka is on the opposite side of the Dnipro River.

Of the five people injured, three are in critical condition, Beryslav said.

On Sunday, one person was killed and four injured by Russian attacks across the Ukrainian-controlled portions of the Kherson region, according to Beryslav.

Russian forces attacked the region 71 times on Sunday, he said, using artillery, multiple-launch rocket launchers (MLRS), mortars and tanks.

Authorities in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv are urging residents to reduce their electricity consumption after a third day of Russian attacks damaged infrastructure facilities.

On Monday, energy company DTEK said that it had been forced to implement emergency power cuts, and Oleksii Kuleba, head of Kyiv regional military administration, called on residents of the capital to keep an eye on their energy use.

"We are currently observing an increase in electricity consumption and excessive load on the grid," Kuleba said on Telegram. "Therefore, it is important not to forget about reasonable consumption of electricity – to use energy-intensive devices in turn and to use electricity sparingly.”

The Ukrainian military claimed to have shot down 39 Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones overnight into Monday, but said that debris had nonetheless damaged infrastructure facilities.

Eleven private houses were also damaged by falling debris, according to Kuleba.

However the Prosecutor’s General Office of Ukraine said that there do not appear to have been any casualties.

“Prosecutors and investigators are working at the scene to document violations of international humanitarian law by the aggressor country,” the office said in a statement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky used his first address of the year to underline the "sense of unity" in the country, and contrast it with the "fear" he said is felt in Russia.

"Our sense of unity, authenticity, life itself – all this contrasts dramatically with the fear that prevails in Russia," said Zelensky in an address published Sunday evening local time.

Zelensky congratulated Ukrainian forces for shooting down 45 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia on the first night of the year

"Russian terrorists were pathetic, and they entered this year staying the same. Our defenders were awesome, and on January 1 they showed themselves very well," he said.

Zelensky went on to thank "everyone who is fighting the enemy at the frontline every day and every night," as well as energy and utility workers restoring infrastructure damaged by Russian strikes.

"And it is very important how all Ukrainians recharged their inner energy this New Year's Eve," said Zelensky.

"And how we thanked our warriors. How we thanked our loved ones. How millions of times all over Ukraine, all over the free world, our wish – the wish of victory – has sounded and still sounds."

A 46-year-old man who was injured by a Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital on Saturday has died in hospital, according to city mayor Vitaly Klitschko.

“One of the injured as a result of the Russian attack on the capital on December 31 died this morning,” Klitschko said on his official Telegram channel. “The 46-year-old man was in intensive care in serious condition.”

Another person died and 20 others were injured in Saturday's explosions, Klitschko said.

Out of the injured, 14 were hospitalized, while six others were provided with medical assistance on the spot, he said.

Several school buildings in the capital suffered severe damage from the explosions, the mayor added.

Ukraine's capital Kyiv was experiencing power outages Monday, after overnight strikes damaged energy infrastructure facilities in the city, its mayor said.

Vitaly Klitschko said some heat supply facilities were disconnected from the power supply, but the city’s water supply remains normal.

Russian strikes in recent weeks targeting critical infrastructure across Ukraine have left much of the country without access to heat and power, amid a harsh winter season. Crews worked for days ahead of New Year's Eve to repair systems and fortify the grid, but Ukrainian officials said Saturday that Moscow's attacks aim to plunge cities into darkness on the holiday.

Klitschko previously said 30% of the capital was left without power on New Year's Eve due to emergency shutdowns.

Meanwhile, locals in Kyiv expressed a resolve to celebrate the new year, telling CNN they hope that 2023 could bring peace, as Russia's invasion grinds on.

Ukrainian forces on Sunday struck a vocational school in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, where mobilized military personnel were stationed, a senior Russian-backed leader said.

Donetsk has been held by Russian-backed separatists since 2014 and it is one of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow attempted to annex in October, in violation of international law.

The news comes after the Ukrainian military said 760 Russian soldiers were killed Saturday, but did not specify where.

Russian forces "lost 760 people killed just yesterday, (and) continue to attempt offensive actions on Bakhmut," the military's general staff said Sunday.

Some context: Russian units have been pressing an offensive towards the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk for months but have suffered heavy losses as Ukrainian forces have targeted them in what is largely open rural territory.

Russian strikes killed at least six people in the Donetsk, Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he thinks Ukraine's air defense can become "the most powerful in Europe" and help uphold security for his country and Europe. 

“Ukrainian air defense can become the most powerful in Europe, and this will be a guarantee of security not only for our country, but also for the entire continent,” Zelensky said in his nightly address Friday. 

Latest round of attacks: Ukrainian officials again praised the efforts of their air defense crews when a new round of Russian strikes pounded several regions Saturday.

The country's military said it was able to knock away 12 of the more than 20 missiles launched at Ukraine.

“Air Defense Forces are heroes and a real shield of our sky. We thank them!” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in a post on Telegram.

Russia’s currency hit an eight-month low Thursday, adding to sharp declines in December as global oil prices fell, and Western sanctions targeted Russia’s energy sector.

The ruble hovered below 72 to the dollar, down 18% from the start of the month, and its weakest level since late April.

After almost halving in value in the first weeks of the war, the ruble has held up remarkably well for most of the year, trading within a narrow range.

The ruble has been helped by measures from Russia’s central bank, which more than doubled interest rates at the start of the war, introduced capital controls, and forced exporters to convert 80% of their earnings into rubles, artificially creating demand for the currency. It later rolled back some of those policies as the exchange rate stabilized.

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