Defiant Ukrainians cheer New Year as drones blasted from skies

People gathered next to a Christmas tree to celebrate the New Year eve before a curfew, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in front of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine December 31, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

KYIV/DONETSK PROVINCE FRONT LINE, Ukraine (Reuters) -Ukrainians cheered from their balconies while their air defences blasted Russian missiles and drones out of the sky in the first hours of 2023, as Moscow saw in the new year by attacking civilian targets across Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces shot down 45 Iranian-made Sahed drones fired by Russia on the first night of the year, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday evening, praising Ukrainians for showing gratitude to the troops and one another.