Russia's 2024 gets off to worst possible start

St. Petersburg canceled New Year's Eve celebrations at short notice following missile attacks on the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukrainian border. The decision not to hold a concert to see in 2024 came as a fire gutted a premises in Moscow in the latest unexplained blaze to hit a building in Russia in recent months.

St. Petersburg's Gov. Alexander Beglov posted on Telegram on Sunday that a concert planned for Palace Square in the city center had been canceled to show solidarity with Belgorod following a missile attack which Moscow has blamed on Kyiv.

The attack on Belgorod appeared to be Kyiv's response to a massive and deadly Russian air assault a day earlier and was swiftly followed by what Ukrainian officials said were Russian drone and missile strikes against the city of Kharkiv, about 40 miles away in an apparent retaliation.