Kyiv attacked after Ukraine’s Zelenskyy warns of ‘massive Russian strike’
Kyiv was struck by ballistic missiles and drones overnight, killing at least two and injuring 11, hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of an imminent massive Russian attack.
Kyiv came under a ballistic missile and drone attack overnight, causing significant damage and killing at least two people while injuring 11 others. The assault came just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of an impending “massive Russian strike.”
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram that a hotel roof caught fire early Thursday morning. He later said 11 people were injured, some trapped in a damaged nine-storey residential building, and the roof of another high-rise apartment building was on fire. AFP reported that city authorities confirmed two fatalities.
Pictures posted online showed a fire raging uncontrollably on top of a building on central Shevchenko Boulevard. Unofficial Telegram channels showed residents crowding into underground stations to take shelter. AFP journalists in central and eastern districts of Kyiv reported hearing more than a dozen explosions as Ukraine’s Air Force warned of approaching ballistic missiles.
The attack occurred hours after Zelenskyy’s warning during a joint news conference in Dublin with Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin on Wednesday. “Today, we have information about another massive Russian strike; we have relevant intelligence data,” Zelenskyy said. He urged citizens to be “especially careful,” heed air raid alerts, and protect their families.
Zelenskyy accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “completely refusing to end the war” launched in February 2022, despite Ukraine’s efforts through official and unofficial channels to signal readiness for “meetings and meaningful negotiations.” According to Zelenskyy, Putin “sees only further aggression against Ukraine and against other neighbours and Europe as a whole.”
