Ukrainian forces down 21 out of 49 Russian drones targeting frontline regions

On the night of December 31, Russian forces launched 49 attack drones in the frontline regions.

Ukraine's air defense repelled the drone attack and shot down 21 air targets, the Air Force reports.

Russian forces attacked Ukraine with Shahed drones from Cape Chauda (Crimea), the area of Primorsko-Akhtarsk, and the Kursk region.

Russian forces attacked the city of Kharkiv with six S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles.

The military clarifies that the enemy directed most of the attack drones at the front line of defense, as well as at civilian, military and infrastructure facilities in the frontline areas in  the Kharkiv region, the Kherson region, Mykolaiv, and Zaporizhzhia.

The attack lasted seven hours. There was no avoiding hits in the Kherson region, with several private houses in the Tyahyn community damaged.

In the Odesa region, the wreckage of a downed drone in the coastal zone caused a fire in an open area: the fire was quickly extinguished, no injuries were reported.

On the night of December 31, Russian forces launched attack drones at Kharkiv, resulting in explosions in the city and fires in the city center.

In the evening, Russian troops attacked the central part of Kharkiv, targeting the Kharkiv Palace hotel and a residential building.

The number of victims of the Russian shelling of Kharkiv increased to 21, including two teenagers.