KyIV - Russian strikes on Saturday targeted Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, just hours before New year’s Eve celebrations while President Vladimir Putin told Russians that “historical rightness” was on their side. As Russian regions in the Far East rang in 2023, the Russian leader delivered his midnight address -- usually set against the backdrop of the Kremlin -- this year standing among servicemen and women who fought in Ukraine. At around the same time, explosions shook the Ukrainian capital where AFP journalists heard at least 11 loud blasts in the early afternoon. “A terrorist state will not be forgiven. And those who give orders for such strikes and those who carry them out, will not receive a pardon,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message following the attacks. “Ukraine will not forgive,” he added, speaking in Russian. Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said on social media that at least one person died as a result of the attacks while city authorities said 22 others were injured. One explosion tore open one corner of the four-star Hotel Alfavito in Kyiv, spilling rubble into the street, an AFP reporter saw. Nearby sidewalks were covered in glass from blown-out windows in the area, including from Kyiv’s National Palace of Arts. Filmmaker yaroslav Mutenko, 23, lives in a nearby apartment complex and said he was in the shower preparing to go to a New year’s Eve party when he heard a boom. He said there had been similar explosions in the area during a previous attack in October, but nothing as loud as Saturday’s explosion. As he watched rescue workers cordon off the street in front of the hotel, he told AFP he still planned to go to the party at a friend’s house. “Our enemies the Russians can destroy our calm but they cannot destroy our spirit,” he said. “Why do I go celebrate with friends? Because this year I understand that it is important to have people near.” The attacks come as Putin’s invasion of Ukraine enters its 11th month, with Russian strikes systematically targeting energy infrastructure, leaving millions in the cold and dark in the middle of winter. Strikes were also reported in the southern city of Mykolaiv where a local official said seven people were injured. Mykolaiv mayor Oleksandr Sienkievych had said earlier that a fire broke out in one of the city’s districts and several residential buildings sustained damage as a result of the strikes. As Ukraine continues to rely on military support and aid from Europe and the US to repel Russia’s attacks, French president Emmanuel Macron promised Saturday to help Ukranians “without fail... until victory.” In Ukraine’s west, at least four people were wounded in the Khmelnytskyi region, governor Sergiy Gamaliy said, adding that part of the city of Khmelnytskyi was left without power. According to Ukraine’s chief of general staff Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Russia launched 20 cruise missiles on Saturday, with 12 shot down. “War criminal Putin ‘celebrates’ New year by killing people,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Putin delivered his New year’s speech from the headquarters of Russia’s southern military district, where he was on a visit earlier on Saturday and presented awards to servicemen. Among the recipients of the awards was Russia’s commander in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovikin, Russian news agencies said.
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