Many killed in Russian, Ukrainian strikes on New Year's Day

At least five people were killed as Russia and Ukraine blamed each other for a bloody start to the new year targeting civilian areas on Monday.

This came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to hit Russia with the wrath of Ukraine's bolstered military capabilities in his New Year's address.

According to a Russian-installed official in the eastern region of Ukraine, shelling authorized by Kyiv killed four people.

Denis Pushilin, the Russian-appointed head of the Donetsk region, wrote on Telegram that "heavy shelling" by Ukrainian forces also left 14 people injured.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said Russian air attacks on Odesa in the south killed at least one person.

Oleh Kiper, governor of the Odesa region, said on Telegram that several people were injured by falling debris after a Russian drone attack caused fires in some residential buildings. Kiper added that Ukraine's air defense systems were engaged in repelling the drones.

Ukraine's air force said Russia's air attacks also targeted the Mykolaiv and Dnieper regions, while governor Maksym Kozytskyi of Lviv said air defense systems were engaged in repelling a Russian drone attack on the city in the west.

As the violence surged between Ukraine and Russia, Zelenskyy vowed to wreak "wrath" against Russian forces in 2024.

In his televised New Year's address, the Ukrainian president said, "Next year, the enemy will feel the wrath of domestic production."

Zelenskyy announced at least "a million" additional drones as well as F-16 fighter jets promised by its Western partners.

"No matter how many rockets the enemy launches, no matter how many shellings and attacks — vile, merciless, massive — the enemy carries out in an attempt to break Ukrainians, intimidate, knock Ukraine down, drive it underground, we will still rise," he said.

In stark contrast, Russian President Vladimir Putin did not reference Ukraine by name or Moscow's "special military operation," as Russia continues to refer to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in his address, but said that Russia "will never retreat."

In the latest escalation of the conflict, on Friday, a barrage of missiles and drones targeting Ukrainian cities left 39 people dead.

Kyiv retaliated a day later by striking the southern Russian city of Belgorod with missiles and drones, killing 24 and injuring more than 100 people.