Putin praises ‘positive dynamic’ in Ukraine war after Russian missile strikes apartment building, kills 23

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Russia unleashes attacks on major cities in Ukraine: Alex Hogan

Fox News foreign correspondent Alex Hogan has the latest on Russian missiles striking critical Ukrainian infrastructure on ‘Fox News Live.’

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the “positive dynamic” of his ongoing invasion of Ukraine on Sunday after a Russian missile strike killed 23 people in a Dnipro apartment building.

The Dnipro attack was part of a wave of missile strikes Russia launched into Ukraine this weekend. First responders spent hours searching through the rubble of the 9-story apartment building destroyed in the strike. In all, Russia fired 30 missiles targeting Dnipro and other major cities, but Ukrainian forces shot down more than 20 of them mid-flight.

“There is a positive dynamic, everything is developing according to plans,” Putin told reporters Sunday. “I hope that our fighters will please us more than once again.”

The missile strike in Dnipro coincided with another attack on the capital of Kyiv. There, Ukrainian officials reported damage to infrastructure, but no civilian casualties.

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A view shows an apartment building heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Dnipro, Ukraine January 14, 2022. (Governor of Dnipropetrovsk region Valentyn Reznichenko via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS)
(Governor of Dnipropetrovsk region Valentyn Reznichenko via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS )

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on the country’s transport industry via a video link in Sochi, Russia May 24, 2022. 
(Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took to Twitter to condemn the attacks and said, “Eternal memory to all whose lives were taken by Russian terror.”

“It was possible to save dozens of people, wounded, traumatized,” Zelenskyy said. “Among them are children; the youngest girl is 3 years old.”

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“The world must stop evil,” he continued, adding that debris removal was ongoing. “All services are working. We’re fighting for every person, every life. We’ll find everyone involved in terror.”

A dog walks among debris of homes destroyed by a missile attack in the outskirts of Kyiv, on December 29, 2022, following a Russian missile strike on Ukraine. – Russian missile strikes battered Ukraine including in major cities like Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv on December 29, leaving at least five people injured and cutting electricity in the west.
(Photo by GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images)

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Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat told Ukrainian media that the missiles most likely “flew on a ballistic trajectory” from north of Ukraine. He stated that Ukrainian forces currently have no method of shooting down such missiles, at least not until operators have been trained in the use of U.S. Patriot missiles, which President Biden’s administration is poised to deliver next week.

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.

Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.