Ukraine, Russia accuse each other of early New Year's Day attacks

Jan 01: Ukraine's shelling of the city of Donetsk in early New Year's Day hours killed four people, a Russian-installed official in the eastern region of Ukraine said, while Ukrainian officials said at least one person was killed in Russia's air attack on Odesa.

Fourteen people were also injured in "heavy shelling" by Ukrainian forces on the centre of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, the Russian-appointed head of the broader Donetsk region of which the Donetsk city is the administrative centre, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

At least one person was killed in Russia's drone attack on the Ukrainian southern port of Odesa, Oleh Kiper, governor of the Odesa region that encompasses the city of Odesa, said on Telegram.

Kiper said that Ukraine's air defence systems were engaged in repelling the drone attack, but the falling debris caused several fires in residential buildings in different parts of the city, also injuring several people.

A social media video, posted by Odesa Mayor Henadii Trukhanov, shows him inspecting a damaged apartment with broken windows.

"They say that how you welcome the New Year is how you will live the year," Trukhanov said in a post.

"Well, this year Ukraine will break this rule: we will persevere and we will win.

Ukraine's air force said that Russia's air attack also targeted the Mykolaiv and Dnipro regions.

The Russian and Ukrainian reports could not be independently verified. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that started with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

—Reuters