The Ukrainian capital suffered barrages of Russian missiles and drones that destroyed entire floors of residential buildings and left at least nine dead on Thursday morning, according to authorities, after a warning from Volodymyr Zelensky.
• Also read: Russia says it shot down 419 Ukrainian drones overnight, one baby killed
• Also read: Ukraine: nine dead in Russian strikes
The Ukrainian president had indicated the day before from Dublin to return immediately to Kyiv, saying he feared a “large-scale” attack from Russia. “We have known that (Vladimir) Putin has been planning this massive strike against Ukraine for some time now,” he said, calling on Ukrainians to “be extra careful to protect themselves” at a press conference in Ireland on Wednesday.
Ukrainian emergency services reported at least “nine people killed and 34 injured due to the Russian attack on the city” of Kyiv.
AFP
“Once again, the enemy is deliberately targeting residential areas and killing civilians. The damage is considerable and the number of injured is significant, including children,” wrote the head of the military administration of the Ukrainian capital Timur Tkatchenko on Telegram.
AFP journalists heard explosions during series of attacks over several hours, and agency images showed residential buildings gutted.
After a detonation in the center of the capital, a cloud of smoke rose, followed by flames and embers, described a journalist present in Kyiv. Firefighters and ambulances arrived quickly on the scene.
AFP
About fifty minutes after the first explosion, journalists heard a second blast near the site of the initial impact, which sent debris into the air.
In the streets, residents headed towards shelters, carrying mattresses under their arms.
Kateryna Koval, a resident of Kyiv, explained to AFP that she had lost the habit of systematically taking refuge in shelters. “But after the latest attacks, I decided to go because there were simply too many strikes on civilian sites during the recent attack,” she stressed, taking refuge in the capital’s metro.
AFP
“Of course, the situation can always get worse, but I don’t think they can intimidate us,” observed Kateryna Kucheriava, a doctor living in Kyiv.
Civil infrastructure affected
“During the night, the enemy again launched a massive attack on the Kyiv region using attack drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles,” Mykola Kalashnyk, head of the military administration of the Kyiv region said on Telegram, specifying that five districts were hit.
AFP
City Mayor Vitali Klitschko said strikes had damaged a building in the center of the capital that housed an ambulance station.
“Five medical professionals were injured in the Shevchenkivskyi district. One of them, an ambulance driver, is in critical condition,” he detailed on Telegram.
“The roof of a high-rise residential building is on fire” in another district, while people are trapped in another damaged nine-story building, the mayor added.
More than four years after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the capital is regularly the target of deadly and sometimes massive air attacks.
On June 2, a massive Russian attack carried out with 656 drones and 73 missiles left 23 dead, including 16 in Dnipro (center-east) and seven in Kyiv, where around fifty people were also injured, according to the authorities.
Kyiv, for its part, has intensified its strikes on Russia and the territories occupied by Moscow in recent months, while negotiations under American mediation to end the war have come to a standstill.
On June 18, a massive Ukrainian attack injured 17 people and hit a major Moscow refinery, causing spectacular explosions and fire.
