Victory Chronicles-DAY 674

At least 18 people have been killed and 132 others injured in a wave of Russian strikes in Ukraine. The attacks, which involved 158 attack drones and missiles, targeted civilians across the country. 

The city of Dnipro experienced significant damage, with a shopping center and a maternity hospital hit, resulting in the deaths of five people, including a child and a police officer. In Odesa Oblast, two people were killed and 27 wounded in attacks on residential buildings. Zaporizhzhia saw four deaths and 12 injuries, while in Kharkiv, three people were killed and 13 injured. 

Lviv Oblast in western Ukraine also suffered damage, with one person killed and 24 injured. In Kyiv, the capital, three people have died, and another 22 were injured. The search for victims continues amid widespread destruction, and Ukraine has launched criminal proceedings for war crimes against Russia. 

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called for global attention and support for Ukraine.

Russia fired about 110 missiles during a morning attack on Ukraine, most of which were shot down. However, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said there were also strikes, casualties and damage caused. “Today, Russia launched almost everything it has in its arsenal: Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, cruise missiles and UAVs. Strategic bombers launched Kh-101/Kh-505 missiles. Approximately 110 missiles were launched, and most of them were shot down. Unfortunately, people were killed and wounded as a result of the attack,” said Zelenskyy.

The National Police of Ukraine has published a series of photos from different cities in Ukraine that have been attacked by Russian missiles and drones today.

Today marked the most massive air attack on Ukraine since February 24, 2022. Russia has launched a massive attack using a variety of missiles, causing significant damage to civilian lives and infrastructure. The video shows the consequences of the Russian attack. 

Ukrainian military officials revealed that Russian forces launched about 7,400 missiles and 3,900 Shahed drone strikes against Ukraine since launching the full-scale invasion. 

Ukrainian Armed Forces Center for Strategic Communications (StratCom) stated on December 28 that Russia has launched about 7,400 missiles against Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, including around 2,470 S-300/400 missiles, 900 Iskander-M missiles, and 48 Kinzhal missiles.

Ukrainian StratCom also reported that Russian forces have launched about 3,700 Shahed drones against Ukraine, of which Ukrainian forces have destroyed about 2,900. Ukrainian Southern Operational Command Spokesperson Captain First Rank Nataliya Humenyuk stated on December 28 that three Russian Kalibr cruise missile carriers — including two unspecified submarines and the Admiral Makarov Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate — sortied in the Black Sea on December 28 and warned of an increased risk of Russian missile strikes because Russian missile carriers have not sorted in the Black Sea for “a very long time.”

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched eight Shahed-131/136 drones from Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar Krai, and that Ukrainian forces shot down seven drones over Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad, and Zaporizhia oblasts on the night of December 27 to 28.

Fighter Kostyantyn Opanasenko, with the call sign Chornyi, died on June 18, 2023, in the village of Novodarivka, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. While performing a combat mission, he came under mortar fire, sustained shrapnel wounds and died of blood loss. The defender was 27 years old. 

Kostyantyn was born in the village of Novoivanivka, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. He lived in the village of Komyshuvakha. He studied at the Zaporizhzhia lyceum with enhanced military and physical training “Zakhystnyk.” Later, he entered the Kharkiv National University of the Air Force named after Ivan Kozhedub, but did not finish his studies. First, he went into conscript service and later signed a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. After graduation, he resigned and worked as a driver for a utility company in Komyshuvas.

In March 2023, Kostyantyn volunteered to go to the front. He served as a driver in the 110th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade. 

“He was a bright man who always smiled and was never afraid of difficulties. My son was responsible, a man of honor, a patriot of his country, the soul of any company,” said Inna Volodymyrivna, Kostyantyn’s mother.  The hero was buried in his native village. The defender is survived by his parents, brother, sister, and daughter.

*Kostyantyn’s story on the Heroes Memorial – a platform for stories about the fallen defenders of Ukraine.

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