At least 14 folks had been killed Tuesday when Russia launched an enormous missile and drone barrage on Kyiv.
The assault, which additionally injured dozens extra, was condemned by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as one of many capital’s most horrific assaults.
The strike was one of many deadliest on Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, and got here as direct peace talks between the 2 sides appeared to stall.
Zelensky mentioned “an entire section of an apartment block” was destroyed and rescuers had been looking beneath the rubble for doable survivors.
The Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported drones flying over town and explosions ringing out as Ukrainian air defence techniques tried to intercept the barrage.
Dozens of residents took shelter in a metro station in central Kyiv, sleeping on mats, exchanging info on the drone and missile menace or reassuring pets, AFP journalists noticed.
Residents in Kyiv advised AFP the assault was one of many strongest in latest reminiscence.
“It was probably the most hellish night in my memory for our neighbourhood,” 20-year-old Ukrainian pupil Alina Shtompel advised AFP.
“It is indescribably painful that our people are going through this right now.”
Interior Minister Igor Klymenko mentioned that some 27 places in Kyiv had been hit.
One particular person was additionally killed and 10 wounded in a strike on the southern port metropolis of Odessa, whereas assaults on the Sumy and Kherson areas later within the day killed two others, authorities mentioned.
A complete of 440 drones and 32 missiles had been used within the strikes nationwide, Zelenskyy mentioned.
“Kyiv has faced one of the most horrific attacks,” the Ukrainian chief wrote on Facebook.
“Right now in Kyiv, efforts are underway to rescue people from under the rubble of an ordinary residential building – it’s still unclear how many remain trapped.”
He urged the worldwide group to not “turn a blind eye.”
Russian President Vladimir “Putin does this solely because he can afford to continue the war. He wants the war to go on,” he mentioned.
US citizen lifeless
Another Kyiv resident, Sergiy, mentioned his home windows had been shattered throughout the strikes.
“I was asleep. There was a loud bang. The window was smashed, and glass rained down on me,” he mentioned.
Residential buildings, academic establishments and “critical infrastructure facilities” had been all hit, Interior Minister Igor Klymenko wrote on Telegram.
A complete of 114 had been wounded within the assault on Kyiv, 68 of them hospitalised, Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko mentioned.
He reported earlier {that a} US citizen had died in a Russian assault on the capital’s Solomyansky district.
“During the attack on Kyiv … a 62-year-old U.S. citizen died in a house opposite to the place where medics were providing assistance to the injured,” Klitschko mentioned on Telegram.
Zelenskyy’s chief of workers, Andriy Yermak, mentioned the brand new strikes confirmed Moscow was “continuing its war against civilians.”
More than three years into its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has stored up its assaults regardless of efforts by the United States to dealer a cease-fire.
Talks have stalled. Moscow has rejected the “unconditional” truce demanded by Kyiv and its European allies, whereas Ukraine has dismissed Russia’s calls for as “ultimatums.”
Zelenskyy had been hoping to talk along with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Canada, however the U.S. chief minimize brief his go to, amid the escalating battle between Israel and Iran.
Source: www.dailysabah.com