Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Cities across Ukraine came under "massive" bombardment from hundreds of Russian missiles, attack drones and artillery fire overnight, killing at least 12 people and injuring more than 70 in what authorities said Friday was one of the biggest assaults of the year.
Fatalities were reported in Kyiv, Lviv, Odessa, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia with Dnipro sustaining the worst loss of life after a direct hit on a shopping mall in the southeastern city killed five people and injured 15, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said in a social media post.
Search and rescue teams, police and national guardsmen all across Ukraine were scrambling to deal with the aftermath, fighting fires, rescuing and supporting victims, said Klymenko.
"The enemy massively bombarded Ukraine. Kyiv's Sviatoshynskyi, Podilskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts came under fire. Civilian infrastructure, cars and warehouses were damaged. Two people died, 18 were injured," Klymenko said.
In Lviv in the far west, one person was killed and nine injured after rockets hit an apartment building and infrastructure while to the south in the port city of Odessa, two people were killed and 15 injured after a three-story building was razed and houses were damaged. The State Emergency Service rescued 23 people from the roof of a residential building.
Rockets targeting infrastructure in Zaporizhzhia region killed one person and injured 10, while emergency services in Dnipro, 50 miles to the north, rescued four patients from a maternity hospital after it was struck.
In the front-line Kharkiv region, one person died and nine were injured after Russian forces opened fire with artillery at first light Friday.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a post on X, said the attacks, which came a day after the United States announced a $250 million package of military aid for Ukraine, used virtually every type of weapon in Russia's arsenal from "Kinzhal" hypersonic missiles and drones to air-launched cruise missiles.
Confirming 158 missiles had been fired at targets across the country, of which 114 had been shot down, Ukraine Airforce spokesman Yurii Ihnat said an attack this large "has not been seen in a long time."
Ukraine air defenses also shot down 27 of 36 Iran-made Shahed drones launched by Russia for both attack and reconnaissance purposes, the Air Force said on social media.
U.S. President Joe Biden condemned the attacks.
"Overnight, Russia launched its largest aerial assault on Ukraine since this war began. This massive bombardment used drones and missiles, including missiles with hypersonic capability, to strike cities and civilian infrastructure all across Ukraine," Biden said in a statement Friday.
Biden emphasized the effectiveness of U.S.-supplied air defense systems against the onslaught.
"In the face of this brutal attack, Ukraine deployed the air defense systems that the United States and our allies and partners have delivered to Ukraine over the past year to successfully intercept and destroy many of the missiles and drones," Biden said.
Biden also called on Congress to act because financial and military aid has been held up as Republican leaders try to leverage what they characterize as border security funding.
"Unless Congress takes urgent action in the new year, we will not be able to continue sending the weapons and vital air defense systems Ukraine needs to protect its people. Congress must step up and act without any further delay," Biden said.
