**Russia Escalates Aerial Assault on Ukraine**
Russia has launched a large number of guided bombs, attack drones, and missiles at Ukraine over the past week. President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia fired more than 280 KAB guided bombs, nearly 370 attack drones, and over 80 missiles.
**Cities Under Attack**
Zelensky shared footage of the destruction across Ukraine on Telegram. He mentioned that even on Christmas night, Russia organized a massive air attack. Kharkiv came under “massive fire” from ballistic missiles, resulting in one death and six injuries.
**Missiles Enter Neighboring Countries’ Airspace**
During the same attack, a Russian missile entered Moldovan airspace, according to Moldovan President Maia Sandu. Unverified reports claimed another missile entered Romanian airspace, but Romania’s Defense Ministry denied any violation. Poland scrambled fighter jets in response to the missile threat.
**Ukraine’s Leader Appeals for Help**
President Zelensky called on countries to help Ukraine with air defense. He said that “Such terror can only be stopped with joint efforts.” An Azerbaijan Airlines plane was rendered “uncontrollable” by electronic warfare, and its tail section was damaged while flying over Russia before crashing.
**Global Response**
U.S. President Joe Biden spoke about the deadly Azerbaijan Airline crash and Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s apology. President Zelensky expressed condolences to the families of victims and the people of South Korea following a tragic plane crash that killed at least 176 people. The threat of North Korean troops dressed in Russian uniforms or Iranian proxies on NATO country borders was also mentioned.
**Other Developments**
Ukraine’s accession to NATO remains on the agenda but is not a top priority for diplomatic efforts, according to Ukraine’s new permanent representative to the U.N. Russia launched more drones and missiles overnight, targeting Kursk and Sumy oblasts in Ukraine. A Georgian politician was inaugurated as the country’s sixth president in a move seen as illegitimate by the opposition.
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