Russian missiles and drones struck apartment blocks in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, early on Thursday, killing at least 18 people and wounding 48 in what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said represented a clear disregard for peace negotiations.
The Kiev City Military Administration (KMVA) confirmed the deaths and injuries.
Timur Tkachenko, head of the KMVA, said the number of deaths rose to 18, among them four children.
Tkachenko said rescuers had unblocked another body, raising the death toll to 18.
“We have 33 locations with consequences, and rescuers are involved in 18. We have a record of damage in all areas of the city,” he wrote on Telegram.
The Kiev City Prosecutor’s Office reported that the consequences of the morning strike were recorded in eight districts of the capital, including Darnytskyi, Dniprovskyi, Solomyanskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, Holosiivskyi, Obolonskyi, Svyatoshynskyi and Desnyanskyi.
In the Darnytskyi district, part of a five-storey residential building was destroyed, and rescue operations are underway to search for people trapped under the rubble.
Windows in nearby high-rise buildings were shattered, cars were damaged, and private homes sustained destruction, the prosecutor’s office said.
At dawn, residents and emergency service workers were clearing debris from streets strewn with broken glass and building materials, an AFP journalist at the scene of one strike in central Kiev saw.
The attack had blasted a five-storey crater in one apartment block, splitting the building in two, images posted by Zelenskyy showed.
“Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table. It chooses to continue killing instead of ending the war,” Zelenskyy said on social media.
“This means that Russia still does not fear the consequences.”
Zelenskyy calls for tougher response
Zelenskyy called for a tough response from Ukraine’s allies, including fresh sanctions.
He also called on Russia’s ally China and EU member Hungary to take a much tougher stance against Moscow.
“All deadlines have already been broken, and dozens of opportunities for diplomacy have been ruined. Russia must feel accountable for every strike, for every day of this war,” he said.
Last month, Russian strikes killed more than 30 people, including five children, in Kiev.
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Moscow had fired ballistic and cruise missiles as well as Iranian-designed Shahed drones from different directions to “systematically” target residential buildings, he said.
During the attack, residents took refuge in subway stations, some lying in sleeping bags and others holding their pets.
A five-storey building in the Darnytsky district had collapsed, and a city centre shopping mall was also hit, the mayor of Kiev, Vitaly Klitschko, reported.
EU delegation building ‘severely’ damaged
