Russia has blamed Ukraine for Saturday’s attack, which was one of the deadliest to take place on Russian soil since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.

Russia-Ukraine War: Russia on Monday launched 90 Shahed-type drones across Ukraine during the early hours of the new year and it is said to be a “record”. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country would “intensify” its attacks on Ukraine. The wave of drone attacks in Ukraine continued throughout Monday.

President Vladimir Putin, while speaking during a New Year’s Day visit to a military hospital, said Ukraine could expect more such strikes after shelling of the Russian border city of Belgorod that killed more than 24 people and wounded more than 100 others.

“They want to intimidate us and create uncertainty within our country. We will intensify strikes. Not a single crime against our civilian population will go unpunished,” said President Putin describing the barrage of Belgorod as a “terrorist act”.

Russia has blamed Ukraine for Saturday’s attack, which was one of the deadliest to take place on Russian soil since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Russian officials said the death toll stood at 25 as of Monday.

Cities across western Russia regularly have come under drone attacks since May, although Ukrainian officials never acknowledge responsibility for strikes on Russian territory or the Crimean Peninsula.

Putin accused Western nations of using Ukraine to try and “put Russia in its place.” While vowing retribution, he insisted Russia would only target military infrastructure in Ukraine.

“Of course, we can hit public squares in Kyiv and in any other Ukrainian city,” he said. “I understand — I’m boiling with rage — but do we need to hit civilians? No. We are hitting military targets, and that’s what we will keep doing.”

A 15-year-old boy was killed and seven people wounded after falling debris from one of 87 downed drones hit a residential building in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa, the head of the region’s military administration. Debris also sparked many small fires, including at the city’s port.

In the western city of Lviv, Russian attacks severely damaged a museum dedicated to Roman Shukhevych, a controversial Ukrainian nationalist and military commander who fought for Ukrainian independence during World War II. University buildings in the town of Dubliany were also damaged, although no casualties were reported.

Writing on social media, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi described the strike as “symbolic and cynical,” adding, “this is a war for our history.”

Meanwhile, four people were killed and 13 more wounded following Ukrainian shelling on Russian-occupied areas of Donetsk, according to the region’s Kremlin-installed leader, Denis Pushilin. Russian state media reported that a journalist was among the victims but provided no further details.

One person was also killed and another wounded in shelling on the Russian border town of Shebekino, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

Russia invaded Ukraine in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that started in 2014. The invasion was the largest attack on a European country since World War II and is estimated to have caused tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties and hundreds of thousands of military casualties.

The Russo-Ukrainian War is an ongoing international conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which began in February 2014. Following Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity, Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine and supported pro-Russian separatists fighting the Ukrainian military in the Donbas War. The first eight years of conflict also included naval incidents, cyber warfare, and heightened political tensions. In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and began occupying more of the country.

(With AP inputs)