Ukraine families reunite despite wave of shelling

KYIV, Ukraine — Multiple blasts rocked Kyiv and other areas of Ukraine on Saturday, killing at least one person and wounding 14 others. Some Ukrainians defied the danger, however, to return to the country to reunite with families for the New Year’s holiday.

Ukrainian officials claimed Russia was deliberately targeting civilians, seeking to create a climate of fear to see out a grim 2022 and usher in a bloody new year.

First Lady Olena Zelenska expressed outrage that such missile attacks could come just before New Year’s Eve celebrations. “Ruining lives of others is a disgusting habit of our neighbors,” she said.

The deadly blast in the Ukrainian capital occurred among residential buildings of the Solomianskyi district. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two schools were damaged.

Residential buildings and civilian infrastructure were damaged in Kyiv on Saturday as part of attacks spanning the country. A top official in the president’s office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, published photos and video of a partially collapsed six-story hotel in Kyiv. Klitschko said a Japanese journalist was among those injured in the capital.

Russia launched 20 cruise missiles over Ukraine on Saturday afternoon, of which Ukrainian forces shot down 12, according to Ukrainian military chief Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

At least four civilians were wounded in the Khmelnytskyi province of western Ukraine, according to regional Gov. Serhii Hamalii. Six people were wounded in the southern region of Mykolaiv.

Even though Russia’s 10month war rumbles on with no end in sight, for some families the new year is nevertheless a chance to reunite, however briefly, after months apart.

At Kyiv’s central railway station on Saturday, a soldier, Vasyl Khomko, 42, joyously met his daughter Yana and wife Galyna who have been living in Slovakia due to the war, but returned to Kyiv to spend New Year’s Eve together.

The mood contrasted starkly with that from 10 months ago when families were torn apart by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Back in February, fathers, husbands and sons had to stay behind as their wives, mothers and daughters boarded trains with small children seeking safety outside the country. Scenes of tearful goodbyes seared television screens and front pages across the world.

But on the last day of the year marked by the brutal war, many returned to the capital to spend New Year’s Eve with their loved ones, despite the ongoing Russian attacks.

In an attempt to ensure residents have light during their celebrations, the regional government Odessa province was planning to limit the work of the most energy-intensive industries over the weekend.

Roman Hrytsyna/Associated Press Soldier Vasyl Khomko hugs his daughter, Yana, after she and her mother arrived at the train station in Kyiv. Khomko’s wife and daughter evacuated to Slovakia after the Russian invasion.