Kyiv hits Crimea military base amid deadly Russian shelling in Donetsk

Zelenskyy vows revenge after Donetsk attack

At least 11 people were killed in Russian shelling in Donetsk on Saturday, according to regional governor Vadym Filashkin. 

Five children were among the dead and eight further people were wounded in the attack on the eastern Ukraine region, partially occupied by Russia. 

Emergency services believe the number of victims could increase as around six more people appear to be under the rubble of one destroyed building.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy said that Russia must feel the consequences of every such attack, adding “that no such strike will go without consequences.”

Shelling hit the town of Pokrovsk, some 50 km from the frontline. 

Before the war, it had a population of 60,000. Nine people were killed and 82 injured in August in Russian shelling. 

Crimean air base hit

Ukraine’s military claimed it successfully attacked the Saki military airbase in the west of the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula.

“Saki airfield! All targets were hit!” Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on Telegram. 

He also published a photo purporting to show the airfield, though Euronews could not immediately verify the image.

Russian officials did not comment on the alleged attack, but Russia’s Defense Ministry said in the early hours of Saturday that it had successfully downed four Ukrainian missiles over the peninsula overnight. 

Later on Saturday, the ministry reported its air defence forces had shot down six Ukrainian anti-ship missiles over the Black Sea.

North Korean-made missiles allegedly used in Ukraine

Ukrainian officials claimed on Saturday they have evidence, which shows Moscow fired North Korean-supplied missiles on Kharkiv earlier this week.

The eastern region’s prosecutor’s office said a missile which hit central Kharkiv on 2 January appears to be made in North Korea.

Investigators who examined parts of the missile concluded the rocket was visually and technically different from Russian models.

On Thursday, the White House said US intelligence officials determined that Russia has acquired ballistic missiles from North Korea and is seeking close-range ballistic missiles from Iran as Moscow struggles to replenish arms for its military campaign with Ukraine.

A Euronews report in September explored what Moscow and Pyongyang need from one another, ranging from food to advanced weapons. Read more on this story below. 

Christmas Eve masses in Belgorod cancelled

Local officials in Belgorod said that an “air target” was intercepted on approach to the Russian border city, some 40km from Ukraine. 

Ukrainian attacks on 30 December in Belgorod killed 25 people, with rocket and drone attacks continuing throughout this week.

It was the deadliest attack on Russian soil since the war began in February 2022, coming after a major bombardment of Ukraine’s largest cities. 

As Russians prepared to celebrate Orthodox Christmas, Christmas Eve masses in Belgorod were cancelled due to the “operational situation,” Mayor Valentin Demidov said.

Experts previously told Euronews that Kyiv was launching drone strikes against Russia to hit military targets and boost morale at home by showing the country had offensive power, though they warned this strategy could backfire, especially if civilians were killed/ 

“I can see why Ukranians want Russia to feel how it feels to wake up in the morning from the sirens of air defences, hiding in cellars, waiting and hoping a missile barrage won’t kill you… But they risk losing the moral high ground,” said Marina Miron, a post-doctoral researcher at King’s College War Studies Department.