December 29, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

By Kathleen Magramo, Eliza Mackintosh, Leinz Vales, Adrienne Vogt and Matt Meyer, CNN

Updated 1:42 a.m. ET, December 30, 2022
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7:31 a.m. ET, December 29, 2022

Wave of Russian strikes one of the "most massive" since war began, Ukrainian Defense Ministry says

From CNN's Olga Voitovych in Kyiv

Explosions rattled villages and cities across Ukraine on Thursday in what the government has said was one of Russia's largest missile barrages since the war began.

"Russian terrorists have been saving one of the most massive missile attacks since the beginning of the full-scale invasion for the last days of the year," Ukraine's Defense Ministry said in a statement on Twitter. "They dream that Ukrainians will celebrate the New Year in darkness and cold. But they cannot defeat the Ukrainian people."

According to preliminary data, Ukraine's Air Force said that Russian forces had launched 69 cruise missiles and that it had downed 54 of those, along with Ukraine's Defense Forces. The Air Force said that it had also repelled attacks from Iranian-made Shahed drones, which are designed to explode on contact with their targets.

Earlier on Thursday, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, said in a post on Twitter that Russia had launched more than 120 missiles in the attack, without giving more details. He said the focus of the onslaught was to "destroy critical infrastructure and kill civilians en masse."

6:56 a.m. ET, December 29, 2022

The war is at a stalemate, Ukraine's intelligence chief says

From CNN's Eliza Mackintosh

Major General Kyrylo Budanov, chief of Military Intelligence, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 25.
Major General Kyrylo Budanov, chief of Military Intelligence, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 25. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

The war has reached a stalemate, with neither Ukraine nor Russia able to make any substantial gains, Ukrainian intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov has said, as Kyiv awaits more weapons from the United States and other Western allies.

"The situation is just stuck," Kyrylo Budanov told the BBC in an interview. "It doesn't move."

Since Ukrainian forces reclaimed the southern city of Kherson in November, much of the fiercest fighting has raged around Bakhmut, in the eastern Donetsk region, where Budanov visited frontline positions earlier in the week. Both sides have been locked in brutal battle there since Russian forces launched their siege on the city in earnest in May.

The freezing winter conditions have slowed advances and Russian forces are "now completely at a dead end" after heavy losses, Budanov said. But he added that Ukrainian troops were unable to progress either without more resources, particularly weapons supplies.

"We can't defeat them in all directions comprehensively. Neither can they," Budanov said. "We're very much looking forward to new weapons supplies, and to the arrival of more advanced weapons."

Budanov also poured cold water on the idea that Russian forces might launch another attack from Belarus, where Moscow has been holding joint military exercises with Minsk. "As of now, I don't see any signs of preparations for an invasion of Kyiv or northern areas from Belarus," he said.

8:06 a.m. ET, December 29, 2022

Russian missiles hit energy facility in Ukraine's Ivano-Frankivsk region, local military head says

From CNN's Olga Viotovych in Kyiv

Russian missiles struck an energy facility in Ivano-Frankivsk, according to the head of the region's military administration, as western Ukraine reeled from attacks on its power grid.

"Today, Russian terrorists have launched another massive missile attack on Ukrainian cities and villages," Svitlana Onyshchuk said in a post on the messaging app Telegram on Thursday. "Unfortunately, this time the danger has not bypassed Prykarpattia [another name for the Ivano-Frankivsk region]." 

"The enemy hit one of the energy facilities in the region, resulting in a fire on the total area of 50 square meters. As of 11.25, the fire was localized, there were no casualties," she said.  

"Another missile damaged a private residential building in the territory of Tlumach community, but did not explode. There were no people in the house at the time of the missile hit. Fortunately, no one was injured," Onyshchuk added. 

Some background: Ukraine's Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said that electrical infrastructure in the country's west, as well as Kyiv and Odesa, were particularly hard hit in the wave of strikes on Thursday.

6:17 a.m. ET, December 29, 2022

Russian missile attacks are "senseless barbarism," Ukrainian foreign minster says

From CNN's Olga Voitovych in Kyiv.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba described the latest wave of Russian missile attacks as "senseless barbarism" on Thursday.

"Senseless barbarism. These are the only words that come to mind seeing Russia launch another missile barrage at peaceful Ukrainian cities ahead of New Year," Kuleba said on Twitter, adding that there could be "no neutrality" in the face of such attacks.

The barrage of Russian missiles, one of the largest waves of attacks, hit several Ukrainian cities Thursday, damaging civilian infrastructure and knocking out power.

6:07 a.m. ET, December 29, 2022

Russian strikes leave several regions without power

From CNN's Olga Voiytovych in Kyiv

Another wave of Russian missile strikes left several Ukrainian regions without power on Thursday, with crews across the country racing to restore power as the New Year holidays approach.

Ukraine's Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said that infrastructure in Kyiv, in north central Ukraine, and Odesa, in the south, had been damaged in the barrage and were experiencing emergency power outages -- when the electricity is protectively turned off to diminish damage from the grid shorting out.

"Today the enemy carried out another massive attack on the energy infrastructure of Ukraine," Halushchenko said in a post on Facebook. "Unfortunately, there is some damage to generation facilities and power grids. As of 11:00, the situation is difficult in the west of the country, Odesa and Kyiv regions."

Forty percent of Kyiv residents were without power, mayor Vitali Klitschko said Thursday, adding that this was due to security measures taken by power engineers during the air raid alarm and that they were now working to restore services. “The city is supplying heat and water in normal mode,” Klitschko said on the messaging platform Telegram.

Authorities in Odesa, in southern Ukraine, said that emergency power outages had been rolled out amid the missile attacks. “They are introduced due to the threat of missile attacks to avoid significant damage if the enemy manages to hit energy facilities,” DTEK, a utility company, said in a statement.

In western Ukraine, Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi said that 90% of the city was without power, cautioning that the city's waterworks could also to stop working.

6:07 a.m. ET, December 29, 2022

16 Russian missiles intercepted over Kyiv, mayor says

From CNN's Olga Viotovych in Kyiv

Ukrainian air defence system intercepts a rocket launched by Russian forces in Kyiv, Ukraine, on December 29.
Ukrainian air defence system intercepts a rocket launched by Russian forces in Kyiv, Ukraine, on December 29. (Mustafa Ciftci/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 16 missiles over Kyiv, the capital's mayor said Thursday, amid a fresh barrage by Russia targeting civilian infrastructure. 

"16 missiles have already been destroyed over Kyiv," Vitali Klitschko said on the messaging app Telegram, revising an earlier statement that air defense forces had downed 15.

At least three people, including a 14-year-old, were injured and two people pulled from a damaged home, Klitschko said earlier.

Homes, an industrial facility and a playground in the capital have been damaged in the barrage, according to the Kyiv city military administration.

6:17 a.m. ET, December 29, 2022

Kyiv's peace formula is "another PR campaign from Washington," Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman claims

From CNN's Clare Sebastian, Anna Chernova and Radina Gigova

Maria Zakharova attends the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 16.
Maria Zakharova attends the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 16. (Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/Shutterstock)

Moscow views Kyiv's proposed peace plan as "another PR campaign from Washington" as Ukraine and the West proliferate "striking but unreliable statements," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday. 

Her comments came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would not negotiate with Kyiv under the terms set out in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's 10-point peace formula.

“We assess the latest nonsensical idea as another PR campaign from Washington, which has recently tried to present the Kyiv regime as a peacekeeper," Zakharova said during a regular briefing. "They tried sufferers, they tried liberal democrats, who else, fighters for the freedom of Europe, and now peacekeepers.”

Zakharova also claimed that Kyiv's plans to hold a peace summit only if Russia fully capitulates "tells us they are starting to signal they don't have any strength left."

Some background: Ukraine’s 10-point peace formula was presented by Zelensky to world leaders at the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November. The steps include a path to nuclear safety, food security, a special tribunal for alleged Russian war crimes, and a final peace treaty with Moscow.

4:34 a.m. ET, December 29, 2022

Kharkiv under missile attack, military official says

From CNN's Olga Voitovych in Kyiv

Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region and its main Kharkiv city are "under attack of enemy rockets," the regional military chief said in a Telegram post Thursday. 

Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration said four rockets had hit the city — likely S300s.

"Critical infrastructure is the target," he said.

Search and rescue efforts were ongoing, he added, saying "the danger has not passed yet" and urging residents to stay in shelters.

Kharkiv's mayor earlier said a series of explosions had been heard.

Russia captured swathes of Kharkiv in the early days of its invasion, before Ukrainian forces retook most of the bordering region in an offensive in the fall.

4:11 a.m. ET, December 29, 2022

At least 3 injured by Russian attacks in Kyiv

From CNN's Olga Voitovych in Kyiv

People shelter in a subway station during a rocket attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on December 29.
People shelter in a subway station during a rocket attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on December 29. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

At least three people were injured in Kyiv Thursday, including a 14-year-old child, after Russia fired missiles at the capital, Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said.

Two people were rescued from the debris of a damaged home, Klitschko said in an update on Telegram.

“Missile fragments damaged a car on one of the central streets," he said.

Search and rescue operations are ongoing, Klitschko added.