December 31, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

We've wrapped up our live coverage for the day. You can read more on Russia's invasion of Ukraine here, or scroll through the updates below.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he thinks Ukraine's air defense can become "the most powerful in Europe" and help uphold security for his country and Europe. 

“Ukrainian air defense can become the most powerful in Europe, and this will be a guarantee of security not only for our country, but also for the entire continent,” Zelensky said in his nightly address Friday. 

“This year, we not only maintained our air defenses, but we made them stronger than ever,” Zelensky continued. “But in the new year, Ukrainian air defense will become even stronger, even more effective.” 

Latest round of attacks: Ukrainian officials again praised the efforts of their air defense crews when a new round of Russian strikes pounded several regions Saturday.

The country's military said it was able to knock away 12 of the more than 20 missiles launched at Ukraine.

“Air Defense Forces are heroes and a real shield of our sky. We thank them!” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in a post on Telegram.

With 2023 on the horizon, Russia launched more than 20 missiles at Ukraine on Saturday, according to the Ukrainian military.

These are the latest developments.

Russian strikes: Explosions left at least one person dead and at least 20 wounded in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Saturday, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a statement. About 30% of the city has been left without power due to emergency shutdowns.

Missile strikes also hit the Ukrainian regions of Khmelnytskyi, Mykolaiv and Zhytomyr.

Ukrainian air defense systems shot down 12 cruise missiles after Russian forces launched more than 20 from land and sea Saturday, according to Ukraine's military.

Zelensky addresses the Russian people: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky switched from speaking Ukrainian to Russian in his nightly address Saturday, issuing a message to Russia and its citizens.

Zelensky said that Russia is waging a war to ensure that Russian President Vladimir Putin remains in power "until the end of his life.” 

“He hides behind you and burns your country and your future. No one will ever forgive you for terror,” Zelensky said. 

Kyiv residents hopeful: Despite many being forced to shelter from Saturday's explosions, people in Kyiv told CNN they will celebrate the new year and they wish for a more peaceful future.

"We expect victory and peaceful skies from 2023," said Natalia Vaganova, who lives in the Kyiv region. 

Prisoner exchange: Both Ukraine and Russia reported an exchange of prisoners of war on Saturday. Andriy Yermak, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said 140 prisoners of war had been released — including those from Mariupol and Snake Island. In a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry said 82 servicemen had been returned as well.

A fresh wave of Russian attacks on Ukraine’s capital city on New Year's Eve forced Kyiv residents to spend the day in shelters instead of preparing for celebrations.

Mila Andriyash, who lives in central Kyiv, told CNN she had just put her 5-month-old son to bed when the first explosion shook the city.

“We hid in the bathroom and began to pray loudly, even though I am an atheist. When it was all over, we just went to the New Year tree,” Andriyash said.

“I hate them. It is pointless to expect something human from nonhumans,” Andriyash continued. 

Kyiv resident Oleksandr Doniy was not at home when the attacks started. It was only when friends started calling and sending him photos of his apartment that Doniy discovered that the attacks had blown out his windows and doors.

After the war started, Doniy sent his family, including his 5-year-old daughter, to western Ukraine.

“I constantly push away the thoughts of what would have happened if she had been in the room at that moment, when the broken glass was flying everywhere and could sink into the body. I don't want to think about what could happen, but these thoughts are constantly creeping into my head,” he told CNN.

“With such attacks, Russia only increases hatred and disrespect for itself. We will rebuild everything anew,” Doniy added. 

Resident Tatiana Vysotskaya said she had been bracing for a Russian attack on New Year's Eve.

“Everybody in Kyiv was waiting and knew there would be shelling. So I had no fear, only hope for our air defense forces so that the consequences would be less terrible,” Vysotskaya said.

Ukrainian air defense systems shot down 12 cruise missiles after Russian forces launched more than 20 from land and sea Saturday, according to Ukraine's military.

Moscow's forces attacked using Tu-95MS bomber planes over the Caspian Sea, and with Iskander-M missile systems from the ground, the Ukrainian Air Force Command wrote on Telegram. 

“According to preliminary data, about 20 missiles were launched in total. Several of them did not reach Ukraine and fell on the territory of Russia (information is being clarified),” the statement said.

Air defenses shot down missiles over several Ukrainian regions, according to Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's military.

“The forces and means of our air defense destroyed 12 cruise missiles: 6 within Kyiv, 5 in Zhytomyr and 1 in Khmelnytskyi regions,” Zaluzhnyi said in a message on Telegram.

Ukrainian defenses also shot down an enemy drone, "which was conducting aerial reconnaissance during a missile attack and trying to identify the positions of our air defense,” the Air Force Command said.

Residents and visitors in Kyiv on New Year's Eve expressed a resolve to celebrate the new year, and also hope that 2023 could bring peace, as Russia's invasion grinds on.

Daria Zhabinska, a 19-year-old student who works for Visit Ukraine, said her wish for 2023 is for Ukraine's 1991 borders as an independent state to be restored.

"For us to return to the borders of 1991 is the only dream. And I want all my loved ones to be healthy," she told CNN. 

"We do not have a New Year's mood like in previous years; in previous years, we had everything decorated and prepared for a month, and we still do not even have a Christmas tree. We are going to look for one now and if we find one, we will have one this year and if not, that's OK," she said. 

"All this adrenaline, all this stress, when you read the news or talk to someone, you just want to celebrate this new year," she added.

Twenty-year-old student Anastasia Grimaylo said she has stocked up on candles as Russian strikes cause repeated power outages across Ukraine.

"We're ready for anything," she told CNN.

Dariya Chesnokova is a schoolteacher, and Yurii Nagotnuk works in the information technology sector. Both are 25 years old and are from the southern city of Kryvyi Rih.

"We came to Kyiv to visit friends, to get a sense of the New Year's mood. We are also taking presents to our friends," she said.

Chesnokova said her wish for 2023 is for Ukraine to win the war, "and then we will rebuild everything."

Natalia Vaganova, 27, an employee of a consulting company who lives in Brovary in the Kyiv region, said she will celebrate at home with family.

"We expect victory and peaceful skies from 2023," she said.  

Olexander Oleksiyenko, a 26-year-old who works in IT and lives in Kyiv, said he will not celebrate this New Year's because his girlfriend is abroad, adding that he plans to "just drink some wine and eat something delicious."

"In 2023, of course, I don't expect the war to end, but I would like it very much. I am a realist, and I think the war could last another 2 years. But I would like minimum stability and some peace," he said.

Alyona Bogulska, a 29-year-old financier from Kyiv, said she plans to celebrate the new year with "a glass of champagne and ... a sandwich with red caviar."

"From 2023 I really want to win, and also to have more bright impressions and new emotions. I miss it very much. I also want to travel and open borders. And I also think about personal and professional growth, because one should not stand still. I have to develop and work for the benefit of the country," she said.  

Tatiana Tkachuk, a 43-year-old pharmacy employee in Kyiv, said her Christmas tree this year symbolizes survival and victory.

"This year we had a family question whether to prepare for (the) new year and whether to put up a Christmas tree. We made up our minds — a Christmas tree should be at home. This year, it's a symbol, not that it's a small victory, but a symbol that we survived the year. There were a lot of scary things, but there were some good things, too. ... Children are born, it is a good sign," she said.

"And from the new year we expect only victory. And I know for sure there will be one. It is the desire of all Ukrainians, and if everyone wants something, it will happen," she said. 

"I want to thank everyone who helps Ukraine. We've made a lot of friends. And in order to understand that we have a lot of good things, unfortunately, we had to go through terrible things. But so many people are doing real miracles for Ukraine. In other circumstances, we would never have known that we were capable of it," she added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky switched from speaking Ukrainian to Russian in his nightly address Saturday, issuing a message to Russia and its citizens.

Zelensky said that Russia, which carried out another wave of missile attacks Saturday, is “following the devil,” and the country is waging a war to ensure that Russian President Vladimir Putin remains in power "until the end of his life.” 

“All this war that you are waging, you — Russia — it is not the war with NATO, as your propagandists lie,” Zelensky said. “It is not for something historical. It's for one person to remain in power until the end of his life.” 
“And what will be with all of you, citizens of Russia, does not concern him,” he added.

Zelensky said that Putin "is hiding behind the troops, behind missiles, behind the walls of his residences and palaces” and his citizens.

“He hides behind you and burns your country and your future. No one will ever forgive you for terror,” Zelensky said. 

Zelensky added that most Russian missiles fired at Ukraine have been intercepted by air defense forces.  

“If it were not for air defense, the number of casualties would have been different. Much bigger,” he said. “And this is yet another proof for the world that support for Ukraine must be increased.” 

 

Thousands of Ukrainian families hid in the Kyiv metro station as Russian missiles hit the city on New Year's Eve, according to UNICEF, the United Nations children's agency.

“Mothers with babies in their arms, children with pets, parents bringing home Christmas trees. All of them spent long hours underground today instead of preparing for the holiday,” UNICEF said in a statement.

Among those sheltering in the subway was Liudmila, who the charity said had saved her 3-year-old son Mykhailo from missile attacks “instead of giving him New Year’s gifts.”

“We were going home to celebrate the New Year. I prepared gifts for my son and was going to wrap them. We missed the bus, I heard an explosion and saw smoke, my son got scared and we ran to the subway. We have never had such a New Year before,” Liudmila was quoted by UNICEF as saying.

The charity said that Liudmila and Mykhailo had moved to Kyiv at the beginning of Russia’s invasion, when her home in the Zhytomyr region was destroyed by shelling.

Both Ukraine and Russia reported an exchange of prisoners of war on Saturday. 

Andriy Yermak, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said 140 prisoners of war had been released — including those from Mariupol and Snake Island.

“On the New Year Eve we not only repel enemy missile attacks, but also return our people home. This is another big exchange that we managed to carry out — 140 people are returning home. Among them are the wounded, as well as the defenders of Mariupol, Zmiinyi (Snake) Island, volunteers of territorial defense from Slavutych, fathers and sons who were in captivity together, as well as ours from Bakhmut direction,” Yermak said in a post on Telegram. 

This is the 35th such exchange of the war, according to the Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

The agency said 1,596 people — including both military personnel and civilians — have been released from Russian captivity through negotiations. That includes 187 women freed since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, according to the officials.

In a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry said 82 servicemen had been returned.

“The liberated personnel will be delivered to Moscow by military transport airplanes for further treatment and rehabilitation at healthcare facilities of Russian Defence Ministry,” the statement said.