Three people, including an infant, were killed in a Russian assault on Kyiv that left 18 others injured and sparked multiple fires across the capital, Ukrainian authorities reported on Sunday. Among the buildings engulfed in flames was the government’s headquarters.
Russia launched 805 drones and 13 missiles in its overnight attack, according to Ukraine’s air force. Of those, 751 were shot down, says the BBC.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the attack began with drones, followed by missile strikes, igniting a blaze in the central government building.
According to Klitschko, the infant and a young woman were killed by drones, while five people, including a pregnant woman, were taken to hospital, reports agencies.
Emergency officials reported that a four-storey residential building in the same district was hit, with two floors catching fire and parts of the structure collapsing. In Sviatoshynskyi, in the western district, several levels of a nine-storey block were destroyed, officials added.
Blazes in a 16-storey apartment tower and in two additional nine-storey buildings were triggered by drones, Klitschko said. Images shared online by emergency services showed smoke pouring from damaged apartment blocks, some with collapsed sections and shattered exteriors.
Head of Kyiv’s military administration Timur Tkachenko accused Russia of intentionally targeting civilians on Telegram.
The bombardment extended beyond the capital. Kremenchuk, in central Ukraine, was rocked by dozens of blasts that knocked out electricity in parts of the city, its mayor Vitalii Maletskyi said.
In Kryvyi Rih, transport links and urban infrastructure were hit, Oleksandr Vilkul of the city’s military administration confirmed, though there were no casualties.
Further south, in Odesa, regional governor Oleh Kiper reported that residential areas and civilian sites were damaged, with multiple fires breaking out in apartment buildings.
Moscow has yet to comment on the overnight attacks. While both sides deny striking civilians, the war — which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 — has claimed thousands of civilian lives.
Meanwhile, Poland’s armed forces said it scrambled its own and allied aircraft to secure airspace in response to the threat of strikes spreading into western Ukraine.
