Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s capital overnight killed at least nine people and wounded 28 others, including four children, local officials said on Saturday, as strikes damaged residential buildings and sparked fires across Kyiv.
The latest barrage came amid a sharp escalation in long-range attacks by both Russia and Ukraine. As Moscow has intensified strikes on Ukrainian cities, Kyiv has continued to press its allies for additional air defence systems.
The United Nations said June was the deadliest month for civilians in Ukraine since April 2022.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said Russian strikes hit five districts of Kyiv.
“Explosions in the city. Kyiv is under ballistic missile attack. Stay in shelters!” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram as the assault unfolded.
AFP journalists reported hearing more than 10 explosions in quick succession, with the blasts triggering car alarms across the city.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said it had carried out a “massive strike” in the Kyiv region, targeting “military-industrial complex enterprises and logistics centres.”
The hardest-hit area was Kyiv’s Darnytsky district, where seven people were killed and 14 wounded after multiple buildings and vehicles were damaged.
In Solomiansky district, two people were killed and eight others injured when a strike hit a five-storey residential building.
“Everything was smashed, the windows, everything,” 75-year-old resident Kateryna Kravchenko told AFP as she surveyed the damage to her apartment.
“I can barely stand. I don’t know how I’m going to get through all this.”
Another resident, Oksana, 46, said she planned to leave the area.
“You can’t stay here after something like this,” she said. “What guarantee is there that it won’t happen again?”
More than 100 rescued
Photos released by Ukraine’s State Emergency Service showed firefighters battling flames at what appeared to be a residential building, while rescue workers searched through piles of rubble.
The agency said 105 people had been rescued from affected areas in Kyiv.
Although Kyiv has come under near-nightly attacks in recent months, Ukraine has also stepped up retaliatory strikes deep inside Russia in an effort to increase pressure on Moscow after more than four years of war.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 274 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Russian online retailer Wildberries said one of its logistics facilities in Volgograd caught fire following an overnight attack, the latest in a series of strikes targeting the company’s infrastructure.
Kyiv has accused the e-commerce giant of storing drone components and assisting the Russian military, allegations the company has denied.
The attacks came days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met US President Donald Trump for talks.
Zelensky said Trump had agreed to license the production of Patriot missiles in Ukraine. However, Trump later said Washington would have to be “very careful” about granting such a licence.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Saturday’s strikes underscored Ukraine’s urgent need for additional air defence systems and missile interceptors.
“It is the battle for the skies that will define the trajectory of this war. The stronger the air shield over Ukraine, the closer peace becomes,” he said.
AFP
