Nighttime attack on Kyiv with Russian missiles and drones leaves 10 dead and dozens injured

At least 10 people were killed and dozens of others were injured after Ukraine’s capital was hit in the early hours of the morning by a wave of Russian missiles and drones, which also caused severe damage and numerous fires. The attack came after President Volodymyr Zelensky had warned that a “large-scale” strike was being prepared.

A day earlier, Zelensky said from Dublin, where he was on a visit, that he would return to Kyiv immediately after receiving information about preparations for a new attack by Russia.

“We know that Putin has long been preparing this massive strike against Ukraine,” he said during a press conference in the Irish capital, calling on Ukrainians to “double” their vigilance and “protect themselves.”

According to the military commander of the Kyiv region, Mykola Kalashnik, “During the night, the enemy launched a new massive attack on the Kyiv region using attack drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles,” adding on Telegram that five sectors of the region had been hit.

AFP journalists said that a series of explosions could be heard for several hours.

In the center of the capital, smoke was seen rising after an explosion and, according to a journalist at the scene, buildings were engulfed in flames. Fire engines and ambulances arrived quickly at the site. About fifteen minutes after the first explosion, another blast was heard, scattering debris in all directions.

Residents went out into the streets and headed for shelters, while some of them were also carrying mattresses.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that one of the explosions damaged a building in the city center where an ambulance facility is located.

“Five paramedics were injured in the Shevchenkivskyi district, one of whom, a member of an ambulance crew, is in critical condition,” he said.

Klitschko also added that “The roof of a high-rise building is on fire in another district, while people were trapped when a nine-story apartment building collapsed.”