Russian Attack on Kyiv Kills Nine, Injures Dozens
A ferocious Russian missile and drone assault struck Kyiv overnight, claiming nine lives and wounding 70 others, including six children, Ukrainian officials reported Thursday.
According to the Kyiv City Military Administration’s Telegram update, Russia deployed drones and ballistic missiles in the attack, with at least 45 drones detected. The Ukrainian Air Force is expected to provide updated figures later.
The barrage followed stalled peace talks, with President Donald Trump criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for resisting territorial concessions, particularly regarding Crimea, in a potential peace deal. Zelenskyy has consistently stated that recognizing occupied territories as Russian is unacceptable for Ukraine.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported that 42 individuals were hospitalized in Kyiv, with rescue efforts ongoing to locate victims trapped beneath debris. At a heavily damaged residential building, emergency crews painstakingly cleared rubble by hand, freeing a woman who emerged dazed and in pain, covered in dust.
An elderly woman, bloodied and in shock, sat motionless as medics treated her injuries near a brick wall. Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city military administration, noted fires in several residential structures.
The attack, which began around 1:00 am, impacted at least five Kyiv neighborhoods. In the Sviatoshynkskyi district, a fire erupted in a damaged residential building.
Oksana Bilozir, a student injured in the head during the assault, recounted hearing a deafening explosion after the air raid siren. As she prepared to flee to a shelter, another blast caused her home’s walls to collapse and power to fail. “It’s terrifying, and I don’t know how this will end,” Bilozir said, emphasizing the need to halt Russian advances militarily, as diplomacy has proven ineffective.
Additional fires were reported in the Shevchenkivsky and Holosiivskyi districts. Anastasiia Zhuravlova, a 33-year-old mother of two, described sheltering in a basement after explosions shattered her home’s windows and sent appliances crashing. Glass shards fell as her family scrambled to safety in a corridor before seeking refuge underground. “It was too dangerous to stay at home,” she said.