Russian Drone and Missile Blitz Kills 8 in Kyiv
Photo: REUTERS
Ukraine’s capital Kyiv came under heavy Russian drone and missile attack overnight, leaving at least eight dead, including children.
The assault forced the evacuation of several neighborhoods as buildings shook under the weight of the explosions, confirming earlier warnings from President Volodymyr Zelensky regarding a “massive” strike.
Daylight on Thursday revealed the full scale of the carnage, showcasing massive craters, smoldering vehicles, and decimated infrastructure. Fires broke out across the city, including a blaze at a central hotel and significant damage to an ambulance station that left one person critically injured.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, condemned the attack, stating, “The enemy is once again deliberately targeting residential areas and killing civilians.”
This operation marks Russia’s first large-scale aerial offensive in over two weeks. Zelensky, who cut his Dublin visit short following intelligence reports, had urged citizens, “I urge our people to be especially careful, to protect themselves, their children, and, of course, their families.”
He added that Vladimir Putin “has been preparing this massive strike against Ukraine for some time now.”
Amid the chaos, Ukraine’s US Ambassador Olha Stefanishyna described the scene on X as “Another horrific night for the residents of the city, who were forced to spend it in shelters.”
While Russian forces recently advanced into Kostyantynivka, neighboring Poland activated fighter jets as a “preventative” measure to secure its airspace.
Russia controls around one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, mostly seized in the first few months of its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Source: BBC (adapted)
