Russian missile strikes on Kyiv and surrounding region kill at least eight
Russia carried out a massive overnight missile strike on Kyiv and the wider region, killing at least eight people and injuring 33, with a children's hospital and school also damaged. Romania and Poland reported airspace incidents linked to the attack.
Russia launched a large-scale missile strike on Kyiv and the surrounding region overnight into Thursday, Ukrainian authorities report. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine (DSNS) said at least eight people were killed and 33 injured. Rescue crews are working to free people trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings, having already pulled two survivors from the debris.
Apartment blocks and warehouses were hit, along with a children's hospital and an educational institution. Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said the hospital's windows were blown out and nearby cars caught fire. Missiles also struck an industrial facility in the Solomyanskyi district in the city's south-west. In the Brovary district of the Kyiv region, one man was killed and another wounded, according to regional governor Tymur Tkachenko. Multiple air-raid alerts were issued through the night, and the strikes knocked out power to thousands of households.
Russia's defence ministry claimed the strikes targeted a drone-component production facility and a munitions depot, though the BBC has not independently verified this.
The attack also caused alarm in neighbouring countries: Romania said a drone entered its airspace near Galați and crashed in an uninhabited area, sparking a small fire but causing no casualties or damage. Poland's military launched defensive air operations to protect its airspace, which borders Ukraine to the south-east.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than a dozen Ukrainian regions had been targeted over the past week, with Russia firing over 1,550 attack drones, 1,560 guided bombs and 62 missiles. Ukraine, meanwhile, has intensified strikes deep inside Russia, including a recent barrage of around 600 drones on Moscow. Two attacks on Russian territory this week killed at least 16 people, including a child. Since July, Ukraine has repeatedly targeted warehouses belonging to online retailer Wildberries, with Kyiv's defence ministry saying seven of the company's ten largest logistics centres are now disabled.
While Ukraine's strikes on Russia are partly aimed at pressuring Moscow toward peace talks, diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire have seen little progress. Both sides accuse each other of targeting civilians. Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 and currently controls about a fifth of Ukrainian territory, mostly in the eastern border regions.
