Russia hits back hard after Belgorod rocket strike

On January 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed that the Ukrainian attack on the Russian city of Belgorod on December 30th would “not go unpunished.”

It was not an idle threat. On December 31st the Russians had launched some 50 drones at various targets in Ukraine; the number increased to 90 drones on January 1st. But the heaviest attacks came on January 2 when at least three waves of drone and missile attacks struck Ukrainian targets (at 6:55 am, 8:20 am and 9:30 am).

It appears the January 2 attacks depleted Ukrainian air defenses significantly, especially in Kiev. Russia struck with between 11 and 13 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. We don’t yet have a list of the targets or know how effective the Russian strikes were.

Armed Forces Chief of Staff Valery Zaluzhny claimed that the Ukrainians shot down 11 Kinzhal missiles, although he provided no evidence. Kinzhals were seen hitting targets in Kiev without any air defense response.

Reportedly the Russian drone used in the attacks was the Geran-2, a Russian-named version of the Iranian Shahed-136 suicide drone.

The Ukrainian attack on Belgorod killed at least 21 in Belgorod, including four children, and wounded 111, including 17 children.  All the victims were civilians and there is no evidence that any of the Ukrainian forces’ targets were, even marginally, military.  No Russian soldiers were killed.

There were other Ukrainian attacks reported on January 2nd in Belgorod, but inflicting far less damage, and there was an attack on Donetsk, again aimed at civilians.

According to Russia’s UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya, the Belgorod targets included an ice rink, a sports center and a university.

Russia says that the rockets used cluster munition warheads. The US previously supplied 155mm Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions (DPICM), which are cluster munitions rounds, mostly because the US ran out of conventional 155mm rounds. It isn’t clear if the Ukrainian MLRS or the Czech Vampire have cluster warheads, although neither the Ukrainians nor the Czechs made any denials about the use of cluster rounds in Belgorad.

The Russians have been hitting Ukrainian military targets and energy and water supply infrastructure in Ukrainian cities and towns for many months. Some Russian weapons have struck civilian targets, including apartment complexes and hotels.