Russia launches massive missile attack on Ukraine, 18 dead

MOSCOW, Dec 29 (Reuters): Russia on Friday unleashed one of its biggest missile attacks on Ukraine of the war so far, killing 18 civilians, wounding dozens more and hitting residential buildings in Kyiv, the south and west of the country, officials said.
Ten people in Kyiv were trapped under rubble at a warehouse damaged by falling debris, the city's military administration said. A maternity ward was damaged in the city of Dnipro, but no casualties were reported, the governor said.
"Today, millions of Ukrainians awoke to the loud sound of explosions. I wish those sounds of explosions in Ukraine could be heard all around the world," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, calling for Kyiv's allies to step up their support.
The vast end-of-year aerial assault comes as uncertainty is swirling over the scale and staying power of future Western military and financial support for Kyiv nearly two years into the war with Russia.
"Russia attacked with everything it has in its arsenal... Approximately 110 missiles were fired, most of which were shot down," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram messenger.
Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk suggested the strike was Russia's largest aerial barrage since the February 2022 invasion, describing it on Telegram messenger as "the most massive attack from the air".
Army chief General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said the attack targeted critical infrastructure and industrial and military facilities. There was no immediate comment from Russia.
The energy ministry reported power outages in the regions of southern Odesa, northeastern Kharkiv, central Dnipropetrovsk and central Kyiv.