Death Toll Rises To 30 In Russia's Deadliest Attack On Kyiv

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko visits the site of a residential building heavily damaged by a Russian missile attack in Kyiv on January 2.

KYIV -- The death toll has risen from the deadliest missile attack on Kyiv since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The number of people killed in Russia's December 29 attack on the Ukrainian capital has risen to 30, the Kyiv City Military Administration said on Telegram on January 3.

"One person died in the hospital from injuries received as a result of shelling," the military administration said, adding that 29 were injured.

Russia fired 158 drones and missiles across Ukraine in the attack on December 29, killing more than 40 people and injuring more than 150.

WATCH: Ukrainian rescuers managed to pull a family's pet birds from the debris of their damaged apartment block after a massive Russian aerial assault hit Kyiv and Kharkiv on January 2. RFE/RL journalist Roksolana Bychai captured the family's emotional reunion with their beloved pets.

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Emotional Reunion As Rescuers Save Family Pets After Kyiv Hit By Russian Air Strikes

Meanwhile, Ukraine launched a drone attack on Russia's Belgorod, the governor of the region bordering Ukraine said on January 3, adding that several drones were destroyed on approach to the city of Belgorod, the administrative center of the region.

The Russian Defense Ministry later said on Telegram that Russia's air-defense systems destroyed a total of 12 Ukraine-launched launched missiles over the Belgorod region.

Presumed Ukrainian shelling of Belgorod on December 30 was reported to have killed more than two dozen people.

With reporting by Reuters