Massive Russian missile and drone raids on Ukraine and the capital Kiev, “well calculated” by Moscow, have caused the deaths of at least four people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Zelensky explicitly accused Moscow of “a deliberately calculated attack whose goal was to cause maximum suffering to the population and maximum damage to civilian infrastructure.”
The Russian Defense Ministry said it launched a “massive attack” last night with drones and missiles, including hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, “against targets of Ukraine’s military-industrial and energy complex, which ensure its functioning”.
The raids, adds the ministry on its Telegram channel, were carried out “in response to Ukraine’s terrorist attacks against civilian targets in the territory of Russia”.
Russia launched a large-scale attack on Kiev tonight, with hundreds of missiles and drones. Several explosions were reported in the capital as of 00:45 local time, according to witnesses. Mayor Vitali Klitschko reports that drone debris hit a five-story residential building in the Dniprovskiy neighborhood. A fire was also reported in a building in Podilskyi. Power outages are reported in several neighborhoods of the city. The Ukrainian Air Force reports dozens of drones targeting the central, southern and eastern regions of the country. Dozens of cruise and ballistic missiles were launched towards Ukraine, it added. Air raid warnings have been issued for the entire country.
“There are many damaged skyscrapers throughout Kiev, almost in every district,” Tymur Tkachenko, head of the military administration of the Ukrainian capital, wrote on social media, quoted by the media, after the massive attack by Russian missiles and drones last night, which, as announced by Zelensky, left at least 4 dead and dozens injured. Tkachenko adds that Ukrainian emergency services have saved dozens of people across the city. Police said 30 residential buildings in nine districts were damaged. Parts of the Desnyansky and Podil neighborhoods, both on the Dnipro River, remained temporarily without heating, the mayor, Vitaly Klitschko, said. But local emergency outages caused by the attack were resolved by the morning, he added. Transport was partially blocked with bus and tram delays.