Russia hit Kiev with a massive bombing that killed four people, authorities said on Sunday, with Moscow launching its nuclear-capable Oreshnik hypersonic missile in one of the biggest volleys in the more than four-year war.
Multiple rounds of loud explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital in the early hours of the morning, AFP journalists reported, as residents took shelter in underground stations.
Scenes across the capital on the day showed rescue workers putting out fires and sifting through the debris of badly damaged buildings – homes, shopping centres, museums, theatres, schools and universities.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier threatened retaliation Ukraine attacks in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine that killed 21 people at a vocational school.
Sofia Melnychenko, 21, thought she was safe in the subway, “but then there were three loud explosions and after the fourth the ceiling in the subway started to crumble,” she told AFP.
“There was complete chaos. Children started screaming, people were panicking,” she added. “It was a very scary night.”
The Ukrainian air force said the raid involved 600 drones and 90 missiles, of which 549 drones and 55 missiles were captured.
“Really Crazy”
Kiev has faced an acute air defense missile deficit since the US-Israeli air campaign against Iran increased demand for US-made Patriot rounds.
European leaders reacted by saying the attack showed Russia’s desperation.
“Terror against civilians is not strength. It is desperation,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said in X.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the attacks signaled “the dead end of Russia’s war of aggression”, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz it is called the use of Oreshnik a “reckless escalation”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Russia “truly crazy” in Telegram.
“Three Russian missiles against a water supply facility, a burnt market, dozens of damaged residential buildings, several ordinary schools and he launched his ‘Oreshnik’ against Bila Tserkva (southwest of Kiev),” he said, referring to the Russian president.
The Russian military confirmed it had launched Oreshnik in Ukraine for the third time in the war, saying it was “in response to Ukrainian terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure on Russian territory”.
Moscow denied that it had targeted civilians, saying it had hit Ukrainian military and intelligence command posts.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two people had been killed in the capital and dozens wounded, while the head of the region around Kyiv said two people had also been killed there.
Klitschko said damage had been reported in every district of Kiev, with strikes causing fires in schools and wreaking havoc on public markets, shopping malls and museums.
The residence of the Albanian ambassador was also hit and the Balkan country summoned the Russian envoy in protest.
Buildings housing a studio of German broadcaster ARD and an office for German media outlet DW were also damaged, the media said in statements. Both premises at that time were empty of people.
Ukrainian authorities said the Russian attacks had also wounded 12 people in the Kharkiv region, 11 in the Cherkasy region and seven in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Revenge
Ukraine had been expecting a major attack after its forces launched a drone strike in Starobilsk, east of the Russian-occupied country, that Moscow said hit a college dormitory and killed 21 people, most of them young students.
Launched overnight from Thursday to Friday, the drone – one of Ukraine’s deadliest attacks in months – also wounded dozens in the city, located in the occupied Luhansk region.
Ukraine denied targeting civilians, saying it had hit a Russian drone unit stationed in the area. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that those responsible would face “inevitable and severe punishment”.
Ukraine regularly targets Russian-controlled areas of the country with drones, arguing that the strikes are retaliation for Russian attacks.
Kyiv has recently expanded its drone capabilities and increased attacks on internationally recognized Russian territory, including residential areas and oil export infrastructure.
Moscow has hit Ukraine almost daily with barrages of missiles and drones since it began its full-scale occupation of the country in 2022, also hitting infrastructure and causing civilian deaths. It denies targeting civilians.
US-led efforts to negotiate an end to more than four years of war have slowed in recent months, with Washington’s attention diverted to its conflict in the Middle East.
(jp)
