Russian forces attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Thursday, killing at least 10 people and wounding more than 50, as drones and missiles struck residential buildings in what Russia said was a retaliation for recent attacks on its civil infrastructure.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had earlier warned of a possible overnight attack and said he was cutting short his visit to Dublin for the start of Ireland’s six-month term in the rotating presidency of the EU.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, writing on Telegram, said 10 people were killed, while damage included six floors of an apartment building that had partially collapsed after a direct hit from a Russian projectile.
Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the capital’s military administration, said 56 people, including two children, were injured and three dozen locations across the city had been damaged in the attacks.
Pictures posted online showed a fire burning out of control at the top of a building on the central Shevchenko Boulevard, while elsewhere in the city, windows blew out and cars were destroyed.
Multiple explosions were heard in Kyiv, a Reuters witness said, and authorities in the region surrounding the capital said on Telegram separately there were also casualties there.
People crowded into underground stations carrying children, belongings, tents and pets as air raid alerts were issued for most of Ukraine’s territory overnight in Russia’s worst attack on the country since mid-June.
Russia’s Defence Ministry, in a Telegram post, said its “massive attack” using long-range, high-precision air-, land-, sea-launched weapons and drones hit military and energy facilities, as well as airports in Kyiv and other locations.
