In the early morning of December 29, Russia launched a massive air strike on Ukraine with 158 cruise missiles, suicide drones and hypersonic missiles.
It had been a long time since Russian forces had launched such a large-scale air strike against Ukraine. At around 3 AM on Friday, December 29, the radar screens of Ukrainian air defense systems were tinted red when they detected the approach of Russian aircraft and drones.
«We had not seen so much red on our screens for a long time,» commented Yuri Ignat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, who also claimed that this was «the most massive missile attack» seen in many months.
The first alert came when the approach of 36 Shahed-136/Geran kamikaze drones was detected from the north and southeast directions, the Ukrainian Air Force command detailed on its social media.
At around 3:00 AM, the approach of Tu-95MS strategic bombers was detected. In total, 18 aircraft reached the launch line around 6:00 AM and launched at least 90 air-launched cruise missiles of the X-101/X-555/X-55 types.
The Russian Kh-101 cruise missile uses thermal decoys – Ai upscaled 150% + dehalo + compression reverse + 30 to 60 FPS + Stabilization https://t.co/TBpyz5obgw pic.twitter.com/upV1WTo4eW
— Dariusz Zawadzki (@Military_oO) December 29, 2023
From the Kursk region at around 5:00 AM, Tu-22M3 long-range bombers launched eight Kh/X-22 or Kh/X-32 supersonic cruise missiles in the direction of northern and central Ukraine.
Russia also attacked Kharkiv with at least 14 S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles and Iskander-M short-range ballistic missiles from positions in the Crimea, Kursk and Belgorod regions.
At 6:30 AM, from the Astrakhan region, five MiG-31K fighters made their appearance and each of them launched a Kh/X-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missile. Also, Su-35S aircraft fired four Kh/X-31P anti-radar missiles and one Kh/X-59 air-to-ground missile at the Ukrainian anti-aircraft defenses.
As reported by the Ukrainian Air Force, of the 158 air attack munitions used against Ukraine, 114 were intercepted by air defense teams, of which 27 were Shahed-136/Geran kamikaze drones and 87 Kh-101/555/55 cruise missiles.
This would indicate that supersonic missiles such as the Kh-22/32, Kh-31, S-300, Iskander and hypersonic Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missiles were able to evade interception and managed to reach their intended targets.
Consequences of the massive Russian attack
According to the AFP news agency, the mayors of the city of Leopolis and Kharkov reported nighttime shelling of their localities, while loud explosions were also heard in Kiev.
In a neighborhood in the north of the Ukrainian capital, a 3,000 square meter hangar was in flames and there were «numerous wounded», confirmed the head of the capital’s military administration, Serguei Popko.
A maternity ward, educational facilities, a shopping mall, multi-story residential buildings and private homes, a commercial storage, and a parking lot. Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and other cities.
Today, Russia used nearly every type of weapon in its… pic.twitter.com/q5q8Q98Njr
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 29, 2023
According to the mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, seven people «are currently in hospital» and a metro station used as a bomb shelter was damaged.
The shelling also affected the towns of Dnipro, in eastern Ukraine, and Odessa, located in the south of the country, according to local authorities. The Health Ministry said a maternity hospital was «badly damaged» in Dnipro, where the mayor reported deaths and injuries. In Odessa, a building caught fire after debris from a downed drone hit it.
Local authorities said there was one dead and three wounded in Leopolis, a town far from the front line and where attacks have been rare in recent months.
Ukrainian authorities have not yet disclosed which military targets and critical infrastructure were hit by the Russian missiles.
Violation of Polish airspace
Alarm bells also sounded in neighboring Poland (a NATO member), when early in the morning, one of the many Russian missiles that were in the air, penetrated Polish airspace, and then proceeded to its target in Ukraine.
Naruszenie przestrzeni powietrznej RP nastąpiło o godzinie 7.12 w rejonie miejscowości Horodło (woj. lubelskie) i od momentu przekroczenia granicy obiekt obserwowany był przez środki radiolokacyjne systemu obrony powietrznej kraju.
Dzisiejszej nocy pojawiły się informacje o… pic.twitter.com/Ytwz5o7Kkb
— Dowództwo Operacyjne (@DowOperSZ) December 29, 2023
As reported by the Polish Ministry of Defense reports that the violation of Polish airspace occurred at 7:12 am in the area of Horodło (Lubelskie) and from the moment it crossed the border, the object was observed by the radars of the country’s air defense system. Tonight there was information about the expected activity of long-range aviation in the Russian Federation. To ensure the safety of Polish airspace, the combat readiness of the air defense system was increased, including pairs of Polish and allied fighters in service.
