Officials: Death toll of Russia’s Jan. 2 mass attack rises in Kyiv, Kharkiv

Two more people died in Kyiv and Kharkiv hospitals after being injured in Russia’s Jan. 2 mass attack against Ukraine, bringing the total death toll in the two cities to six, local officials reported on Jan. 8.

Russia unleashed a large-scale air attack on Ukraine early on Jan. 2, targeting Kyiv, the surrounding region, and Kharkiv with 99 missiles, preceded by a wave of 35 Shahed drones.

A man hospitalized in Kyiv has become the third person killed in a residential building in the city’s Solomianskyi district, which was heavily damaged by Russia’s attack, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Around 50 more people were injured in the capital, according to the latest update by the State Emergency Service.

Overnight on Jan. 8, a 56-year-old man died in a hospital in Kharkiv of his injuries from Russia’s Jan. 2 attack, Oleh Syniehubov, the regional governor, reported on Telegram.

The death puts the total tally of the victims in the northeastern city at three people killed and 62 injured.

Russia has recently intensified its attacks against Ukraine's cities and critical infrastructure as the temperatures dropped, echoing its strategy from last year.

Russian forces launched 59 missiles and drones at Ukraine overnight and in the morning of Jan. 8, killing at least four people and wounding over 30 more, according to Ukrainian authorities.