Russian Strikes Kill At Least 17 In Kyiv As Zelenskyy Cuts Ireland Visit Short

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Numerous people have been killed and injured in a massive overnight Russian attack on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv that forced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to cut short his visit to Ireland, officials said early Thursday.

By last count, at least 17 people died, and 90 were reported injured as drones and missiles struck residential buildings and started a fire in a hotel on a central boulevard. Worthy News obtained disturbing video footage showing panicked residents rushing to shelters as relentless Russian drone and missile strikes pounded the Ukrainian capital.

President Zelenskyy had earlier warned of a possible overnight attack and said he was “cutting short” his visit to Dublin for the start of Ireland’s six-month term in the rotating presidency of the European Union.

The Russian strikes came after Ukraine increasingly hit targets far inside Russia. Kyiv said the strikes were in response to Moscow’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022.

KYIV UNDER HEAVY FIRE

Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said people had been killed amid attacks hitting about three dozen locations across the city damaged in the attacks.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said separately that scores of people were injured, adding that the first through sixth floors of an apartment building collapsed after a direct hit.

Children were reportedly among the casualties as emergency crews searched damaged residential areas for survivors.

Multiple fires erupted across Kyiv, including at an ambulance station where at least one person was reported critically injured. Firefighters also battled a blaze that engulfed a hotel on one of the capital’s central boulevards.

RESIDENTIAL AREAS HIT

Residents spent hours in bomb shelters as waves of drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles struck the city. Air defense systems lit up the night sky while explosions echoed throughout the capital.

Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Olha Stefanishyna, described it as “another horrific night” for Kyiv residents, saying civilian infrastructure and apartment buildings were damaged in several districts.

Russia’s Defense Ministry acknowledged launching what it described as a “massive strike,” saying it targeted Ukrainian military, defense industry, and energy facilities in retaliation for recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian infrastructure. Ukrainian officials insisted residential neighborhoods were deliberately hit.

Before returning to Ukraine, Zelenskyy said intelligence indicated Russian President Vladimir Putin had been preparing the assault for some time.

POLAND SCRAMBLES JETS

“I urge our people to be especially careful, to protect themselves, their children, and, of course, their families,” Zelenskyy said before departing Ireland.

The latest bombardment was among the largest Russian missile and drone attacks in recent weeks and came as fighting intensified along parts of the front line in eastern Ukraine.

Elsewhere, neighboring Poland scrambled fighter jets as a precaution to protect its airspace during the attack, saying the measure was intended to safeguard areas bordering Ukraine. There were no reports of missiles or drones entering Polish territory. However, previous Russian attacks have on several occasions violated Polish airspace, prompting heightened military alerts, while other NATO countries bordering Ukraine have also reported similar incursions.

The renewed strikes underscored that more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, the conflict remains far from over despite repeated diplomatic efforts to end the war.

RUSSIA STEPS UP ATTACKS

Russian forces continue to control roughly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, while Ukraine says recent long-range strikes inside Russia have disrupted military logistics and supply routes supporting Moscow’s occupation forces.

The latest assault came after a series of deadly Russian missile and drone strikes on Kyiv in recent weeks. Among them was an overnight attack on June 15 that killed at least 11 people and set the historic 11th-century Dormition Cathedral at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, on fire.

Ukraine condemned the attack as a strike against its Christian and cultural heritage, while Russia denied deliberately targeting the landmark.

The latest assault was expected to intensify international calls for additional air defense systems and ammunition as Ukraine struggles to protect its cities from increasingly sophisticated Russian missile and drone attacks.

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