At least four people were killed and 20 were wounded in multiple Russian missile and drone attacks overnight on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, local officials have said.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Friday morning search and rescue operations were continuing in several locations. Among the wounded, 16 were admitted to hospital.
Ukrainian authorities said Russian forces launched 407 drones and 45 missiles, including cruise and ballistic missiles, of which they succeeded in destroying, respectively, around 200 and 30.
“It was a very frightening night. We heard some of the drones go over this area in central Kyiv, giant explosions ringing out across the city, some so loud that they were shaking the glass here of our hotel, we’ve seen pictures of people who took shelter in the metro stations underground and underground car parks,” said Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford, reporting from the Ukrainian capital.
Multiple explosions were heard in Kyiv, where falling debris sparked fires across several districts as air defence systems attempted to intercept incoming targets, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Administration.
“Our air defence crews are doing everything possible. But we must protect one another – stay safe,” Tkachenko wrote on Telegram.
Ukraine’s human rights chief, Dmytro Lubinets, called for a strong international response to the overnight attack, saying the assault violated basic human rights.
“Russia is acting like a terrorist, systematically targeting civilian infrastructure,” Lubinets wrote on Telegram. “The world must respond clearly and take concrete steps, including condemning the aggressor’s actions.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also called on Western allies to ramp up pressure on Russia. “Russia’s overnight attack on civilians once again demonstrates that the international pressure on Moscow must be increased as soon as possible,” he said in a statement.
Moscow denies targeting civilians since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Authorities reported damage in several districts, and rescue workers were responding at multiple locations. They urged residents to seek shelter.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said three emergency workers were killed in Kyiv while responding to the aftermath of Russian attacks. “They were working under fire to help people,” the ministry said in a statement.
In Solomyanskyi district, a fire broke out on the 11th floor of a 16-storey residential building. Emergency services evacuated three people from the apartment, and rescue operations were under way. Another fire broke out in a metal warehouse.
Tkachenko said the metro tracks between two stations in Kyiv were damaged in the attack, but no fire or injuries occurred.
The attack hit at least six regions across Ukraine, leaving a trail of civilian injuries, damaged infrastructure and disrupted utilities.
The number of people injured in a Russian attack on the western city of Ternopil early Friday rose to 10, including five emergency workers, regional governor Viacheslav Nehoda said. The strike damaged industrial and infrastructure facilities, left parts of the city without electricity, and disrupted water supplies.
Three people were injured in Ukraine’s central Poltava region following a Russian attack that damaged administrative buildings, warehouses and a cafe, regional head Volodymyr Kohut said. Fires caused by the strike have been extinguished, and debris fell on a private home.
Russian forces also struck the Khmelnytskyi region overnight, damaging a private residential building, outbuildings, a fence, and several vehicles, regional governor Serhii Tiuryn said.
Meanwhile, air defence forces shot down three Russian missiles over the western Lviv region overnight, the regional head Maksym Kozytskyi said.
In the northern Chernihiv region, a Shahed drone exploded near an apartment building, shattering windows and doors, according to regional military administration chief Dmytro Bryzhynskyi. He said explosions from ballistic missiles were also recorded on the outskirts of the city.
The overnight attack took place as hopes for a truce between Russia and Ukraine seemed to be faltering, despite two rounds of direct talks in Istanbul.
On Thursday, United States President Donald Trump said it may be better to let Ukraine and Russia “fight for a while” rather than pursue peace immediately – a remarkable shift from Trump’s previous appeals for a quick end to the war.
Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Trump in a telephone conversation that Moscow would have to respond to the earlier huge Ukrainian drone attacks deep inside Russia against Russian military warplanes.
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