Ukraine-Russia war live: 20 dead in Russian border city Belgorod after Kyiv launches retaliatory strikes

Ukraine’s series of retaliatory attacks on Russian territory saw forces use missiles, drones and shelling.

And although no comment had yet been made by Kyiv, Russian officials have confirmed 14 people, including two children, were killed in the border citty of Belgorod.

Ukrainian media, which said more than 70 drones were used in attacks, said one target was an electronic factory in the Bryansk region used to make Russian military equipment like long-range missiles and anti-aircraft systems.

Here’s more on the 24-hour attack from Chris Stevenson

Russia said 20 people including two children had been killed and 111 injured in “indiscriminate” Ukrainian strikes allegedly including cluster bombs on the Russian provincial capital of Belgorod on Saturday, and has vowed to retaliate.

“Today, the Kyiv regime attempted an indiscriminate combined strike on the city of Belgorod with two ‘Olkha’ missiles in a banned cluster configuration, as well as Czech-made Vampire rockets,” the Defence Ministry said in a Telegram posting. “This crime will not go unpunished.”

More on that attack on Kharkiv by Russia, which came hours after Ukraine launched air strikes on Belgorod.

Oleh Synehubov, governor of Kharkiv region, said doctors were helping eight people. Buildings hit included “a medical institution, multi-apartment residential buildings, shops and other public places, (and) transportation”.

Local Telegram channels carried images of damage to the Kharkiv Palace Hotel in the center of the city.

Mayor Ihor Terehov said the Russian attack caused “serious damage” and a fire at a residential building, and that information about casualties was being gathered.

Synehubov said Russia had carried out six strikes. “In particular, they hit the central part of the city of Kharkiv. There is damage to civilian infrastructure,” he said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

In a post on the Telegram messaging ap, the regional governor for Kharkiv, Oleh Synehubov said civilian infrastructure had been damaged.

He said: “The occupiers carried out more than six strikes. In particular, they hit the central part of the city of Kharkiv. There is damage to civilian infrastructure.”

Relief operations are continuing in the aftermath of Russia’s massive attack on several major Ukrainian cities on Friday morning.

President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Emergency Service rescuers and said that the attack affected 159 people.

Sadly, 39 people were killed in the attack.

As Ukraine enters yet another year at war with neighbouring Russia, Keir Giles looks at what may be in store in 2024.

He writes that Kyiv’s forces are likely to remain on the defensive unless the West finally gets fully behind the idea that Putin’s war aims will only change if his hand is forced.

Read the full report here:

Russia has requested a meeting of the U.N. Security Council after air strikes on Saturday on the city of Belgorod, close to the border with Ukraine, the state-run RIA news agency citing Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said 14 people including two children had been killed and 108 injured in “indiscriminate” Ukrainian strikes allegedly including cluster bombs on the provincial capital.

“The terrorist attack in Belgorod will be the subject of proceedings in the UN Security Council – Russia has requested a meeting of the Security Council,” she was quoted as saying.

Russia said 14 people including two children had been killed “indiscriminate” Ukrainian strikes on the nearby Russian provincial capital of Belgorod on Saturday.

They added that 108 people had been injured and vowed to retaliate.

“Today, the Kyiv regime attempted an indiscriminate combined strike on the city of Belgorod with two ‘Olkha’ missiles in a banned cluster configuration, as well as Czech-made Vampire rockets,” the Defence Ministry said in a Telegram posting. “This crime will not go unpunished.”

It said most of the rockets including both ‘Olkha’ missiles had been shot down, averting far greater casualties, although fragments had fallen on the city.

Poland ended a ground search on Saturday after finding no parts of a suspected Russian rocket which it said had violated the country’s airspace on Friday morning, the Polish army said.

“At 3:00 pm (1400 GMT), the inspection of the designated area was completed… The search result was negative,” the Polish army’s operational command wrote on social media platform X.

“Military activities have been completed and we do not plan any further field verification.”

Polish military officials said on Friday that an object had breached the country’s airspace from the direction of its border with Ukraine on Friday morning before exiting within three minutes of entry.

Ukrainian authorities had reported a mass attack on various cities throughout Ukraine in the early hours of Friday.

“The Ukrainian side and allies have preliminarily confirmed our radar records that the object had left Polish territory,” a spokesperson for the operational command told Reuters earlier on Saturday.

Nearly 500 soldiers of the Territorial Defense Force took part in the search near the city of Zamosc in southeastern Poland, the operational command said on X.

On Friday evening, Poland’s foreign ministry summoned the Russian charge d’affaires, demanding an explanation for the violation of its airspace.