War Between Russia and Ukraine: List of Major Events, Day 312 | War news Russia-Ukraine
As the war between Russia and Ukraine enters its 312th day, we take a look at the main developments.
This is the state of affairs on Sunday, January 1, 2023:
New Year speeches
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a New Year message that his only wish for all Ukrainians for 2023 was victory and determined to stay on track as the country fights for it.
"This year has touched our hearts. We cried all the tears. We've called all the prayers," Zelenskyy said. "We are fighting and will continue to fight. Because of the key word: 'victory'."
President Vladimir Putin devoted his New Year's address to rallying the Russian people behind his troops fighting in Ukraine, promising victory over Ukrainian "neo-Nazis" and a West supposedly intent on "destroying Russia".
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russia's victory over Ukraine was "inevitable" as he praised the heroism of the Russian soldiers in a New Year's video message.
Numerous explosions were heard in Kiev and other places in Ukraine and in the early hours of New Year's Day, air raid sirens blared across the country. There were no immediate reports of damage.
A barrage of more than 20 cruise missiles was fired on targets across Ukraine on Saturday, killing at least one person and wounding 20 in the capital in the capital second wave of attacks on land in three days.
According to the city authorities, a hotel just south of Kiev city center was hit and a residential building in another neighborhood was damaged.
Other regions in Ukraine also came under fire, including the southern Mykolaiv region, the western city of Khmelnytskyi and the southern industrial powerhouse Zaporizhzhia.
Russia and Ukraine said they had released more than 200 captured soldiers, the latest prisoner exchange between the two sides.
Russian authorities have announced that military and state employees will be deployed to fight in Ukraine exempt from income taxMoscow's latest attempt to encourage support for a military campaign against Kiev.
France will assist Ukraine to its victory, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a New Year's Eve speech. "In the year that begins, we will assist you without fail," he said.
Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met separately with representatives of Russia and Ukraine ahead of his inauguration on Saturday and called for an end to the war between the two countries.
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