Russia Hammers Ukraine For A 3rd Straight Day, Flattening A Kyiv Apartment Block And Killing 9

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia unleashed a third consecutive massive drone and missile on Thursday Attacks on Ukraine An apartment building collapsed in Kiev, killing nine people and injuring dozens, authorities said. More than two dozen civilians were injured in attacks elsewhere in the country.

As dawn broke on a clear day in Kiev, a scene of destruction emerged in the capital’s leafy Darnytsia district, located between the suburban forest and the Dnieper River.

Smoke billowed from the collapsed nine-storey apartment block, where emergency workers were digging under concrete slabs and carrying people away on stretchers. The entrance of the building was broken in the attack, preventing the residents of the building from escaping.

Authorities said that all 18 flats in the building were destroyed. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that a 12-year-old girl was among the dead. According to Timur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, nine people were killed. There were approximately 20 people believed to be missing.

Klitschko declared Friday a day of mourning for the victims.

Ukrainian officials noted that the attack coincided with the attack of US President Donald Trump. china trip. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have enough influence to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to end his 4-year occupation of Ukraine.

“At a time when the leaders of the most powerful countries were meeting in Beijing and the world was hoping for peace, predictability and cooperation, Putin launched hundreds of drones, ballistic and cruise missiles into the capital of Ukraine,” Sybiha wrote to X.

“Only pressure on Moscow can stop him,” Sybiha said of Putin.

Russia fired ballistic and cruise missiles in the attack, Zelenskyy said, adding that Moscow had launched more than 1,560 unmanned aerial vehicles into Ukraine’s population centers since Wednesday. About 180 sites across the country were damaged, including more than 50 residential buildings, the official said.

British Defense Secretary John Healey described Thursday’s attack as “shocking” and said Britain was stepping up its air defense delivery.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the military targeted Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, including air bases, fuel and transport facilities, and claimed to have hit all targets. It was stated that among the weapons deployed were Kinzhal missiles, which Moscow said could fly at 10 times the speed of sound.

Russia targeted Ukraine with large-scale air strikes 9-11 May ceasefire Trump said he asked Zelenskyy and Putin to listen to this. Conflict continued during these 72 hours, but the intensity reportedly decreased.

The attacks undercut recent claims by Trump and Putin that the war, which began with Moscow’s all-out invasion of its neighbor in 2022, is nearing its end.

Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko said that more than 30 people were injured as a result of the collapse of the apartment building, and emergency workers rescued 28 building residents.

Lyudmila Hlushko, 78, told The Associated Press that she heard explosions and rockets around 3 a.m. “Then the house shook violently and there was a big explosion, the window of my house was broken.”

The explosion broke all the windows in the neighborhood.

“It was a terrible night,” said Nadiia Lobanova, another resident. “We got used to it. Of course, it is impossible to get used to it, but somehow we held on.”

Damage was reported in six districts of the capital, Tkachenko said.

The Kiev office of defense contractor Skyeton, which specializes in reconnaissance drones, was destroyed in a night attack, but the company said it had expected such a development and had relocated its production.

Russian drones also hit a vehicle carrying UN personnel delivering aid to residents of Kherson in southern Ukraine, Sybiha said. He said the vehicle was marked and attacked twice from two different locations, but no one was injured.

Officials said that the Ukrainian cities of Kremenchuk, Bila Tserkva, Kharkiv, Sumy and Odesa were also bombed.

“We are currently experiencing the largest attacks since the beginning of the full-scale occupation,” air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat told Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne.

He said Ukraine’s air defense forces were under serious pressure. Still, the capture rate of unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles is over 93 percent, Zelenskyy said.

The air force said its air defenses shot down or intercepted 693 Russian targets overnight, including 41 missiles and 652 unmanned aerial vehicles of various types across the country.

It was stated that 15 missiles and 23 unmanned aerial vehicles made direct hits to 24 points. The debris of the downed drones fell at 18 more locations.

National grid operator Ukrenergo said strikes on energy infrastructure temporarily left customers in Kiev and 11 other regions without power.

one on wednesday rare daytime attack Zelenskyy said at least six people were killed in Kiev. The attack, involving 800 unmanned aerial vehicles, hit approximately 20 regions and was among the longest attacks of the war.

In other developments on Thursday:

— Hungarian government He summoned the Russian ambassador A drone attack was carried out near Hungary’s border with Ukraine. The move marked a sharp change in tone towards Moscow by new Prime Minister Péter Magyar, following years of warm relations with the Kremlin under former leader Viktor Orbán.

— Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina resigned After his government’s coalition partner withdrew its support, depriving him of a majority. The government is under pressure over its handling of several incidents involving rogue drones suspected of originating from Ukraine and crossing into Latvian territory.

Associated Press journalists Hanna Arhirova in Kiev, Ukraine, and Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, contributed.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war at: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine