Kiev and Kharkov dawned under Russian bombardment
The Kremlin launched missile attacks on the capital, Kiev, and Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkov, injuring several people and destroying residential buildings and gas pipelines in both cities, Ukrainian officials said.
Five people were killed and 40 injured in Russian attacks. Ukraine condemned Russia's "new acts of terrorism" and said Moscow "wants to create daily fear among its citizens". Recent Russian attacks have sought to find gaps in Ukraine's defences by deploying multiple missiles and drones to overwhelm its air defence systems.
Ukraine's weapons arsenal has also been depleted following massive bombardments involving more than 500 drones and missiles between 29 December and 2 January, according to officials in Kiev.
In addition, seven people were injured in the Solomyansk and Svyatoshyn districts of the capital, and several flats were set on fire in the attack, as confirmed by Mayor Vitaly Klitschko via Telegram.
Serhii Popko, head of the Kiev junta, and his regional counterparts said on Telegram that air defence systems repelled the Russian missile attack. Non-residential buildings in the Pechersk region of the capital were damaged, officials said. Popko said on Telegram that several cars were set on fire in the town of Svyatoshyn, west of the capital's centre.
"We heard a loud explosion and our house shook," sheriff's deputy Irina Gerashchenko said on Telegram. Reuters witnesses said several explosions were heard in and around Kiev, confirming Gerashchenko's words.
Igor Terehov, mayor of Kharkov in northeastern Ukraine, said his city had also been attacked by Russia. "They are attacking Kharkov again," he said on Telegram. Police in the city said the attack ignited a gas pipe and injured children, information that, Reuters could not independently verify.
Russia has not weakened as the U.S. had hoped
Washington points to Moscow's military, social and economic losses among the war's gains. However, predictions of the collapse of the Russian military have not come true and seem unlikely. On the contrary, the war stimulates Russia's military industry in a different way than before.
This is why Moscow is adopting a complacent attitude, considering that its 'friend' Trump might win the US presidential election and under pressure to permanently cut off US funding flows to Ukraine's war machine, the Kremlin is opting for a war of positions.
Ukraine is the main loser in the conflict and has to cede large swathes of territory in exchange for peace and a long-term EU integration process.
The US elections, key to the conflict
The uncertainty in Kiev has been compounded by recent moves in the US electoral world, which have left former president Donald Trump vying for the US presidency against current White House guest Joe Biden.
It was Trump who suspected in 2019 that European NATO members would become dependent on the US, and the war in Ukraine confirmed it.
Now Zelensky began to see the wolf's ears. This is because it is clear that what Trump was referring to in May 2023 was not a concerted ceasefire around the Russian military, but an end to military support for Kiev.
For this reason, this weekend, Ukraine's head of state invited President Trump to Ukraine to discuss ways to end the war, recalling President Trump's words. The idea that President Trump could unilaterally make decisions against Ukraine's will worries Zelensky.