KYIV: Russia launched an aerial attack on the centre of Kyiv in the first hours of 2025, killing two people and drawing fresh anger from officials towards Moscow. The attack — a rare strike on the heart of the Ukrainian capital — came just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed in a New Year's message that he would do everything possible to bring the war to an end over the next 12 months. Ukraine's state emergency services said two were killed, six wounded and four pulled from the rubble after Russian drones were fired towards the capital. Local officials said the damage was caused by falling debris, suggesting the drones had been intercepted. Journalists in the city heard multiple powerful explosions early on Wednesday morning.
Ukrainian officials said the Russian drones targeted the capital's Pechersky district, home to the presidential palace and government quarter. Apartment blocks were hit and Ukraine's central bank said one of its buildings in the city centre was damaged in the attack. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly threatened to strike at the heart of Kyiv in recent weeks — an attack he said would be a response to Ukraine firing US-supplied weapons on Russian territory.
Zelensky blasted the Russian drone attack. "Even on New Year's night, Russia only cares about hurting Ukraine," he said in a post on Telegram. A total of 111 Russian drones were fired at Ukraine overnight, with 109 either shot down or disabled by Ukraine's air defence systems, the Ukrainian air force said. Both sides have ramped up their aerial attacks over the last two months, seeking to gain an upper hand in the conflict ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump coming to power later in January.
Meanwhile, Russia's gas transit to Europe via Ukraine stopped on Wednesday, Moscow and Kyiv said, ending a decades-long arrangement and marking the latest casualty of the war between the neighbours. Russian gas has been supplied to Europe via pipelines crossing Ukraine since the end of the Soviet Union in 1991 in an arrangement that earned revenues for Moscow from the gas and for Kyiv from the transit fees. The latest transit contract expired on Wednesday, with Ukraine opting not to extend the deal following Russia's 2022 attack.
Kyiv hailed the end of Russian gas transit as a "historic event," and said it would deal a blow to Russia's finances and its war machine. But Moscow casts it as Ukraine shooting itself in the foot and frustrating its partners in eastern Europe that rely on Russian supplies. Slovakia, one of those countries, has slammed the move, but it has been welcomed by others inside the EU, including Poland. Russian gas accounted for less than 10 per cent of the European Union's gas imports in 2023 — down from more than 40 per cent before the war. But some of the bloc's eastern members are still heavily reliant on Russian imports.
Talk of a possible end to the three-year conflict has risen up the agenda following Donald Trump's victory in the US Presidential election. The incoming Republican has vowed to end the fighting within hours, though has not laid out how he plans to do that. Moscow wants full control of four eastern and southern Ukrainian regions it claims to have annexed, while Kyiv has ruled out territorial concessions for peace. — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
