The "record-breaking" attack
The Ukrainian military said Russia fired 158 missiles and drones at locations across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, in the December 29 attack. Ukraine successfully intercepted 114 of them, according to AFP. Schools, maternity hospitals, shopping malls, and apartment buildings were among the targeted structures.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yury Ignat said the number of missiles and drones was "a record" and the "largest missile attack" in the nearly two-year-long war, not counting the early days of continuous shelling of Ukraine. At least 18 people were killed and more than 130 injured in the attack, according to Reuters, citing information from Kyiv.
Damage in Odessa, southern Ukraine, from the Russian attack on December 29.
Russia has not commented directly on the information. The Russian military said on the same day that it had hit all targets in dozens of attacks on Ukraine over the past week, including the latest one. Moscow also insisted it was only targeting military facilities in Ukraine, according to TASS.
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In a statement, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said the December 29 attack proved that there could be no ceasefire negotiations with Moscow. "Russia is not considering any scenario other than the complete destruction of Ukraine," Reuters quoted the statement as saying.
Western countries have condemned the December 29 attack. Moscow has consistently denied targeting civilians in Ukraine.
The Polish military said a potentially Russian missile flew through Polish airspace on December 29, originating from Ukraine and returning to Ukraine, while Russia was conducting its attack in Ukraine. According to a Polish general, the missile was in Polish airspace for less than three minutes.
The Russian Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of firing three US-made HARM missiles into Russia's Belgorod region on the same day. "Three US-made HARM missiles fired by Ukrainian air defense systems were destroyed over the territory of the Belgorod region," Reuters quoted the ministry as saying.
Russia warns the West about asset seizure.
The Kremlin warned the West on December 29 that it has a list of US, European, and other assets to seize if G7 leaders persist in pursuing the seizure of $300 billion in frozen Russian central bank reserves.
The leaders of the G7 (comprising the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Canada) are expected to discuss a new legal framework that would allow the seizure of frozen Russian assets when they meet in February, according to Reuters sources.
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said any such move by the West would be seen as tantamount to "theft," violating international law and undermining reserve currencies, the global financial system, and the world economy.
"This would be a major blow to key parameters of the international economy, it would weaken the international economy... It would undermine the confidence of other countries in the US as well as the EU... Therefore, such actions would have very, very serious consequences," Peskov said at a press conference on December 29, according to Reuters.
When asked if he had a specific list of Western assets that Russia might seize in retaliation, Peskov replied "yes." However, he declined to provide information about any specific assets on that list.
German general assesses Russia suffered heavy losses.
Major General Christian Freuding, in charge of overseeing German military support for Ukraine, recently stated that Russia has suffered enormous losses in terms of personnel and materials in Ukraine, and that the Russian military will be weakened after the conflict.
In an interview with the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper published on December 29, Freuding said: "You know that according to Western intelligence figures, 300,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or so severely wounded that they can no longer be mobilized for the war."
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Freuding also said that Russia is believed to have lost thousands of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. "The Russian armed forces will be weakened both in terms of personnel and material resources after this war," he commented.
However, he argued that Russia is succeeding in continuing its recruitment efforts, "including the use of prisoners." The German general also acknowledged that Russia is demonstrating a greater "resilience" than the West thought when it began its military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Moscow did not immediately comment.
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