Russia targets Kyiv with missiles and drones, setting buildings ablaze and causing injuries | Ukraine
Russia launched a large-scale attack on the Ukrainian capital with missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles overnight on Thursday, causing violent explosions and shaking Kiev for hours.
Massive strikes hit residential buildings and triggered a fire at a hotel on the central boulevard, injuring at least 11 people, according to Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Klitschko added that people were also trapped in a damaged nine-story residential building and the roof of another high-rise apartment building was on fire.
The mayor called on residents to stay in shelters, describing an ongoing “angry enemy attack” in the capital.
The attack using ballistic, cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles affected all 10 districts of the city on both banks of the Dnipro River. After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials made their first warnings about the attack, many residents took shelter in metro stations.
Pictures on unofficial Telegram channels showed residents crowded into metro stations as multiple explosions were heard in Kiev.
Zelenskyy had previously warned that intelligence reports showed an overnight attack on the country was likely and said he would cut short his stay in Dublin, where he was visiting for the start of his six-month term in charge of Ireland’s EU presidency.
Russia has intensified its attacks on Kiev in recent weeks, although Ukraine’s long-range drone campaign against Russian military and energy facilities has caused fuel shortages and disrupted supply lines within Russia.
NATO member Poland is mobilizing warplanes as a preventive measure, the Polish Armed Forces said in a post on X.
“These actions are preventive in nature and are aimed at securing and protecting airspace, especially in areas adjacent to threatened areas,” the post said.
via Reuters and Associated Press
