Ukraine New Year's Fireworks Marked by 'Russian Drone Explosion'

Ukraine, at war with Russia, welcomed the New Year on the 1st (local time) amid anxiety due to drone airstrikes.

According to Reuters, AP, and other agencies, residents in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, celebrated the first day of the New Year at home under wartime curfew, but immediately after midnight, they were plunged into fear as air raid alarms were followed by suicide drone attacks.

On the evening of the last day of 2022 (31st, local time), citizens in the city of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, are holding flags and preparing to welcome the New Year.

Some residents said it was a night when, instead of fireworks welcoming the New Year, they watched flashes caused by missiles and drones launched by Russian forces being shot down by the Ukrainian Air Force.

The Ukrainian authorities announced that they shot down as many as 45 Russian-origin drones that day.

The Kyiv police released photos on Telegram showing drone debris that fell on a playground with "Happy New Year" handwritten in Russian.

The police condemned Russia, saying, "The drone fell not on a battlefield but on a children's playground."

There were no casualties in Kyiv that day, but at least three people were killed and about 50 injured in drone and missile attacks elsewhere.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared in a speech that night, "They will not take away our independence," and "We will not give them anything," expressing his determination to continue fighting Russia in the New Year.

A resident who came to a park that day said, "Since soldiers cannot be with their families, we cannot simply celebrate the first day of the New Year," but also said they take pride in being Ukrainian, as President Zelenskyy’s speech conveyed.

Sky of Kyiv Covered with Lights Amid Air Raid Alarm on the 1st

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a New Year's address broadcast immediately after indiscriminate bombings the previous day, continuing a nine-minute speech asserting that the war has "moral and historical legitimacy for Russia."