Putin's £1bn missile blitz on Ukraine's biggest cities with 100 rockets launched

02 January 2024 , 21:04

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Russian forces have launched about 170 Shahed drones and dozens of missiles since Sunday (Image: Russian Defence Ministry/AFP via)

Ukraine's two biggest cities faced a massive 100-missile barrage on Tuesday as Russia unleashed a billion pounds worth of explosive firepower on civilians.

Most of the roughly 80 cruise missiles were shot down, but the debris and explosions killed at least five people and injured almost 100. Costing £10million per weapon – and flying at 10 times the speed of sound – they hit the capital Kyiv, killing four and Kharkiv, killing one. Also more than 20 £20,000 Iranian-built Shahed “kamikaze” weapons were fired into Ukraine, adding to the massive cost of Russian tyrant President Vladimir Putin’s latest onslaught. As more injured civilians were rescued from under rubble, sources in Ukraine revealed a piece of missile wreckage identified it as having been built in 2023.

Most of the roughly 80 cruise missiles were shot down, but the debris and explosions killed at least five people and injured almost 100 (Getty Images)

It means western sanctions are not crippling Putin’s war machine and the despot is piling misery on his neighbour in a bid to cower its population. One source told the Daily Mirror: “This proves Putin is making weapons still, on an industrial scale, and these sanctions on weapons parts and materiels are not working.

“Some of these parts were made in the US and Europe. More has to be done to prevent this from happening.” The blitz extended Russian attacks that began last Friday with its largest single assault on Ukraine since the war started. At least 41 civilians have been killed since.

At a nine-storey Kyiv apartment building where two people were killed, Iryna Dzyhil, 55, was blown off her chair. She said: “They say they’re hitting military targets, but they’re hitting people, killing our children and our loved ones.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that since Sunday, Russian forces have launched about 170 Shahed drones and dozens of missiles, most at civilian areas. On Saturday shelling of the Russian city of Belgorod killed 26.

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Chris Hughes