Kyiv attack: Six dead, 52 injured as Russia launches strikes on Ukraine
A fresh wave of attacks on Ukraine’s capital has left six people dead and more than 50 severely injured after a Russian drone struck a residential apartment tower after nightfall.
It is understood that around 10 locations were targeted in the latest attacks.
Horrifying footage emerged online of one residential apartment building being struck, with an enormous explosion occurring as the missile made contact.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“TERRIBLE ATTACK ON KYIV! Russia hit another residential building. DIRECTLY,” Maria Drutska wrote on X, sharing the footage of the strike.
Russia fired 309 Shahed and decoy drones, and eight Iskander-K cruise missiles overnight, the Ukrainian air force said.
Ukrainian air defences intercepted and jammed 288 strike drones and three missiles, with five missiles and 21 drones striking targets.
Russia’s defence ministry, meanwhile, said its forces took full control of the strategically important city of Chasiv Yar in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
Ukrainian officials, who typically do not confirm retreats, did not immediately comment.
Russian and Ukrainian troops have battled for control of Chasiv Yar for nearly 18 months.
It includes a hilltop from which troops can attack other key points in the region that form the backbone of Ukraine’s eastern defences.
A report on Thursday from Ukraine’s Army General Staff said there were seven clashes in Chasiv Yar in the past 24 hours.
An attached map showed most of the town as being under Russian control.
DeepState, an open-source Ukrainian map widely used by the military and analysts, showed early on Thursday that neighbourhoods to the south and west of Chasiv Yar remained as so-called grey zones, or uncontrolled by either side.
The attack targeted the Kyiv, Dnipro, Poltava, Sumy, Mykolaiv regions, with Ukraine’s capital being the primary target, President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram.
“Today, the world once again saw Russia’s answer to our desire for peace with America and Europe,” Zelenskiy said.
“New demonstrative killings. That is why peace without strength is impossible.”
He called on Ukraine’s allies to follow through on defence commitments and pressure Moscow towards real negotiations.
Shortly after the attacks, Ukraine’s interior minister spoke out about the “enemy” strikes.
“Tonight, the enemy attacked the capital with missiles and drones. Sviatoshynsky and Solomyansky districts suffered the most. In total, as of 6:30 am in Kyiv, 1 person was killed and more than 20 were wounded,” Ukraine’s Interior Minister Igor Klymenko wrote on Telegram.
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, later revealed that the number of injured people had climbed to more than 40, before the number eventually rose again.
“The number of wounded in Kyiv has increased to 43. 26 of them were hospitalised in the capital’s medical institutions,” he said.
Emergency crews raced to the scene of the strikes, and as daylight broke, the horrific reality became clear as they attempted to pull survivors from the site.
- with Reuters
