Russian drone strike injures 6, including children, in Odesa, Ukraine – National
Russian drones bombed apartments and the power grid in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa in overnight attacks that injured six people, including a toddler and two other children, officials said on Wednesday.
This attack happened when Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed confidence in his country to finally win the war that lasted almost four years against its neighbor.
Four apartments were destroyed during the bombing in Odesa, according to the head of military administration in the region, Oleh Kiper. Electricity supplier DTEK said two of its power plants suffered major damage. The company said that 10 substations that distribute electricity in the Odesa region were damaged in December alone.
Russia this year has increased its long-range attacks on urban areas in Ukraine. In recent months, as Russia’s invasion of its neighbor nears its four-year milestone in February, it has redoubled its focus on energy infrastructure, seeking to deny Ukrainians heat and running water in the bitter winter months.
Between January and November, more than 2,300 Ukrainians died and more than 11,000 were injured, the United Nations said earlier this month. That was 26 percent higher than the same period in 2024 and 70 percent higher than in 2023, it said.
Russia’s continued drone and missile attacks came after renewed diplomatic efforts to end the fighting.
US President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Florida resort on Sunday and declared that reconciliation is “closer than ever.” The Ukrainian leader is expected to hold talks next week with European heads of government supporting his efforts to find acceptable terms.
Putin was confident of victory
Despite progress in peace talks, which he did not mention, Putin reaffirmed his belief in Russia’s eventual success in its invasion of Ukraine as he delivered his traditional New Year’s address to the nation on Wednesday.
He particularly praised the Russian soldiers deployed in Ukraine, describing them as heroes who “fight for your country, truth and justice.”
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“We believe in you and in our victory,” Putin said, as quoted by Russian news agency Tass.
Putin delivered his 3-1/2-minute taped speech behind an icy Kremlin, a tradition broken only in 2022 – the year the attack began – when the Russian leader gave his speech surrounded by men and women in military fatigues.
Russia says Putin’s residence was attacked
Continued long-range attacks, meanwhile, are fueling tensions.
The Odesa night strikes are “further evidence of the enemy’s tactics, which deliberately target civilian infrastructure,” said Kiper, the regional head.
Moscow has accused Ukraine of trying to attack Putin’s compound in northwestern Russia with 91 long-range drones on Sunday and early Monday. Ukrainian officials deny the claim and say it is a ploy to disrupt progress in peace talks.
Maj. General Alexander Romanenkov of the Russian Air Force said on Wednesday that the drones were launched from the Ukrainian regions of Sumy and Chernihiv.
At a forum where no questions were allowed, he presented a map showing the drone’s flight paths before it was shot down by Russian aircraft defending the Bryansk, Tver, Smolensk and Novgorod regions.
It could not independently verify the reports.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, on Wednesday called the Russian allegations “deliberate interference” in the peace talks.
“No one should accept baseless claims from an aggressor who has indiscriminately targeted the infrastructure and citizens of Ukraine since the start of the war,” Kallas wrote in X.
Ukraine’s arms fund receives billions
Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that Romania and Croatia are the latest countries to join the fund that buys weapons for Ukraine from the United States. The financial plan, known as the Priority Ukrainian Requirements List, or PURL, includes contributions from NATO members, other than the United States, to purchase American weapons, ammunition and equipment.
Since it was established in August, 24 countries have contributed to this fund, according to Zelenskyy. The fund has so far received US$4.3 billion, and about $1.5 billion will arrive in December alone, he said on social media.
The Ukrainian Air Force said on Wednesday that Russia had shot down 127 drones during the night, and 101 of them were intercepted by the aircraft.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said 86 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight on Russian territory, the Black Sea and the illegally occupied Crimean peninsula.
The Ukrainian attack sparked a fire at an oil refinery south of Krasnodar, but it was quickly extinguished, local authorities said.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
