Kyiv endures ‘night of hell’ as Russia launches massive missile blitz hitting school & injuring 53 while Zelensky in US

KYIV has suffered a hellish night after Russia launched a massive missile attack overnight that left 53 people injured.

The horror attack damaged a children’s hospital and apartment building.

Russia launched a horror attack on Kyiv overnight

Some 53 victims were reported including six children, one aged only five, in sustained bombardment.

Air defences downed ten strikes – believed to be its powerful Russian Iskander missiles – but damage was caused by falling rocket debris.

In Odesa region, ten incoming Shahed kamikaze drones, launched by Russian from annexed Crimea, were destroyed. 

Separately, footage showed Russia had put its flag over the ruins of Maryinka, a hotly-disputed town in Donetsk region, as it makes gains on the frontline.

And a leading Putin propagandist called on Ukrainian troops to surrender to resurgent Russians.

The setbacks for besieged Ukraine came as Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded in Washington for new military aid, but Republicans in congress refused to commit to new support in a decisive blow to the Ukrainian leader. 

Joe Biden warned his foes they were making a “Christmas gift” to Vladimir Putin by refusing to sanction urgent new munitions for Kyiv. 

Twenty were hospitalised as a result of the heavy bombardment of Kyiv, including  two children.

The military administration in the Ukrainian capital said the city had faced “the second high-speed missile attack on Kyiv in the last two days. 

“Just like on December 11, the enemy used ballistic weapons. 

“The Russians launched rockets at approximately 3am,  most likely from the north-eastern direction.”

Footage showed the strikes with air defences working and the clean-up 

“In one of the children’s hospitals in the Dnipro district, windows were broken and the central entrance to the institution was damaged,” said mayor Vitali Kitschko.

“In the Dnipro district, the facade of a residential building was damaged by rocket fragments. Residents are being evacuated. Fire and rescue services and medics are working on the spot….

“Four cars are burning in the yard of a residential building. One of the balconies of the building is on fire and the facade of the building is damaged. 

“Rescuers have already brought out 15 people, including four children.

“Fire services extinguish the fire. Evacuation of residents continues.

“A one-story residential building is on fire in the Darnytskyi district. Emergency services arrived at the scene….

“Fragments of a rocket also fell on a private residential building in the Dnipro district.”

The mayor said:  “In total, 53 people were injured as a result of the enemy’s night attack. 

“Twenty, including two children, were hospitalised. 

“Doctors provided assistance to 33 injured people on the spot, notably six  children.”

Footage showing the Russian flag and a Soviet flag flying in the last ruin in Maryinka spread on the Russian web as Zelensky won the promise of $200 million in military help from Biden but evidently failed to unlock a logjam in congress preventing the substantial new military hardware he needs.

Buoyed by Russian gains, Putin propagandist Margarita Simonyan called on Ukrainian troops to surrender, alleging provocatively that they did not want to fight.

“Guys, you can run away – run away into captivity, to us,” she said.

“Then everything will be smooth. 

“This is me addressing the Ukrainian military, who were forced there [to the war], who do not want to fight against us [Russians]

“I am sure the majority are like that.”

Elsewhere, footage showed Russian paratroopers with Lancets destroying two Ukrainian tanks and a self-propelled gun in the Klishchiivka area, according to Moscow’s defence ministry.

Biden told Zelelsnky: “We will continue to supply Ukraine with critical weapons and equipment as long as we can.”

Asked in Washington if he would cede territory to Putin, Zelensky hit back: “This is absolute madness. 

“We often mention God, and it is definitely not in a Christian way. 

“Our people, families, children live there. And all this is part of Ukrainian society. 

“We are talking about living people, they are mocked, raped, they were killed, and we know it very well.

“The question is not only in the land, the question is in living people, their destinies. The problem lies with these families, their children.”

He vowed: “Ukraine has been defending its freedom for two years now in a full-scale war – the largest war since World War II. 

“No matter what Putin tries to do, he cannot defeat Ukraine. Russia will not impose a dictatorship on us.”

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