What the 29 December 2023 strikes meant for Ukraine
A look back at the overnight assault that killed dozens and sent a missile into Polish airspace.
How should the assault of 29 December 2023 be remembered? Russia launched what was reported as the largest wave of drones and missiles on Ukrainian cities since the start of the war, a widespread overnight attack across the country. Early reports put the toll at no fewer than 39 dead and 160 injured.
The background to that day shows how the figure grew. Later accounts described hundreds of missiles and drones striking Kyiv and other cities, with at least 58 people reported killed and 160 others injured.
A missile over Poland
The attack also reached beyond Ukraine's borders. One of the Russian cruise missiles entered NATO airspace as it travelled over Polish territory. The Polish government responded by summoning the Russian chargé d'affaires for an explanation.
Pressure on the grid
The strikes came after days of attacks on infrastructure. On 27 December 2023, Russian drone and artillery strikes killed at least five people in Kherson and left around 70% of households without power, according to the Kherson governor, Oleksandr Prokudin. The assault two days later was part of the same campaign against infrastructure reported across those days.
A different European headline
On 28 December 2023, the day before, there had been a separate piece of European news. Bulgaria and Romania reached an agreement with Austria to join the Schengen Area through sea and air routes in March, with talks on opening land borders due to begin the following year. It was a reminder of the wider European setting in which Ukraine's own institutions and partners were operating.
For Ukraine, the significance of 29 December 2023 lay in its scale and in the cost to civilians. Reports from that time set out the number of dead and injured, and the spillover into Polish airspace showed that the effects of the strikes were not confined to Ukrainian territory.
