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Russia launched a major offensive in the Ukrainian capital on Thursday night, killing at least 17 people and injuring dozens as massive explosions rocked Kyiv for hours.
Attacks with ballistic and cruise missiles and drones have damaged civilian buildings and infrastructure throughout the city. Many citizens took shelter in metro stations after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other authorities issued initial warnings of an attack.
This attack killed 17 people in Kyiv, said emergency services in that country. At least 90 others were injured, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said that 20 buildings were damaged throughout the city. The emergency services said they deployed nearly 500 people and 100 units of special vehicles, including a helicopter, to deal with the aftermath of the attack.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called on Ukraine’s allies to strengthen the country’s air defenses following what he described as a “terrible night” in Kyiv, urging partners not to delay decisions on providing air and missile defense systems.
Writing in X, Sybiha said the death toll after the attack may increase as rescue teams continue their work.
Russia has stepped up its attacks on Kyiv in recent weeks, as Ukraine’s long-range drone campaign against Russian military bases and energy facilities has caused fuel shortages and disrupted supply lines inside Russia.
Sybiha rejected any attempts to justify the Russian strikes as retaliation for the protracted invasion of Ukraine, saying Ukraine was exercising its right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter while Russia remained an aggressor.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged residents of the capital to stay in shelters because of the ongoing “attacks of the angry enemy”.
He said the paramedics are in a very critical condition and are among the injured in the Shevchenkivskyi district. Emergency services in Ukraine said a hotel and two five-story residential buildings were damaged in the area.
In Desniaskyi district, people were trapped inside a damaged nine-story building while rescuers headed to the scene, Klitschko said.
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In the village of Holosiivskyi, a fire broke out on the roof of a 16-story building, according to the Emergency Service.
In Sviatoshynskyi district, a fire broke out in two private properties, emergency services said. Debris trapped people in one of them, according to the mayor. In Darnytskyi district, six levels of a nine-story building collapsed after a Russian strike and another five-story building was destroyed, Klitschko said.
Emergency services said a 16-story building and private residences in the area were damaged.
Tkachenko said the attack destroyed a residential building in Desnianskyi district, started a fire near two residential buildings in Pecherskyi district, and ignited a fire near an administrative building in Solomianskyi district.
He said authorities are also recording damage in Obolonskyi and Podilskyi districts. The head of the Kyiv Regional Administration, Mykola Kalashnyk, said that the damage occurred in five regions. Three people were injured in Bucha district, he said.
