12 PEOPLE WERE wounded today in a Ukrainian drone attack in the eastern Donetsk region partially controlled by Russian forces or their proxies since 2014, regional authorities said.

“A shell dropped by a drone in the Kirov district wounded 12 people today,” Denis Pushilin, the head of the Moscow-appointed administration said on Telegram.

Those injured included rescue workers and municipal service officials, he added.

The Donetsk region and its main city, which goes by the same name, have been regularly bombarded by Ukrainian forces.

Ukraine said earlier today that it had downed 24 out of 28 Iranian-made drones launched by Russia overnight as two Kyiv residents were reported injured by a drone attack on a residential building.

“On the night of December 22, 2023, the Russian occupation forces attacked with 28 Shahed attack drones,” Ukraine’s air force said on social media.

“As a result of combat work, 24 ‘Shaheds’ were shot down,” the statement said.

Air raid sirens were heard in Kyiv late Thursday and residents heard loud explosions. City hall initially said air defences were in action and called on people to stay in shelters.

Russian missiles and drones frequently target the Ukrainian capital but are usually shot down by air defence systems. 

Meanwhile, Poland’s new foreign minister today urged the West to rally around Ukraine, choosing the war-torn country for his first visit abroad in a sign of support as other allies waver on aid.

Ukraine in turn expressed hope for a quick resolution to a blockade from Polish truckers and said the visit marked a “new page” in the two countries’ relations that became strained under the previous administration.

Air alarms sounded during the meeting, warning of a potential new raid from Russia, which has intensified air attacks in the past weeks.

“If the West mobilises, I have no doubt who will win, but it must finally start mobilising,” Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in a press conference wrapping up his trip.

He said Western economies were “twenty times wealthier than Russia” but that Moscow “has switched its economy to a war mode.”

“We cannot allow Russia to produce more on the basis of a much smaller economy. Because wars are not won by tactical battles, wars are won by production,” he said.

His visit comes as fatigue builds among Kyiv’s allies nearly two years into the war, and despite Ukrainian officials’ efforts to stave off war fatigue.

In the US, Senate leaders said Tuesday that Washington would not be able to approve new aid for Ukraine before the year’s end.

Hungary blocked a European Union aid package for Ukraine, though Ukraine did win a symbolic victory when the bloc opened formal membership negotiations with Ukraine – but any actual accession is years away. 

© AFP 2023