Russia unleashed a significant missile assault on Kyiv and its vicinity, causing injuries and extensive damage to schools, residential buildings, and industrial facilities. The attack, the largest in weeks, injured at least 17 individuals, including an 11-year-old girl, according to city and regional officials.
Despite a 44-day hiatus in missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital, the air force reported successfully intercepting all incoming missiles, attributing the damage to falling debris. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged international support for air defense systems to counter ongoing terror.
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Kyiv of initiating attacks to disrupt Russia’s recent presidential election.
Denying civilian targeting, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine since February 24, 2022, has resulted in extensive missile strikes, with over 8,000 missiles launched in the conflict’s initial two years.
The Ukrainian military highlighted over 1,020 air raid sirens sounding in Kyiv since the war’s onset, with the capital under alert for nearly three hours on Thursday morning. Residents expressed profound animosity towards Russia, attributing their ordeal to Putin’s policies.
Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, revealed the Russian deployment of strategic bombers and missiles from its territory. Debris from downed Russian missiles inflicted damage across the city, including kindergartens, schools, residential areas, and industrial sites.
Regional officials reported extensive damage to private houses and multi-story buildings, with an estimated cost of $390 million for the day’s missile attack on Kyiv.
Agiya Zagrebelska, head of sanctions policy at the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, compared this expenditure to the significant tax contributions by international companies to the Russian budget, highlighting the economic and human toll of the conflict.
Despite international condemnation, the conflict escalates, with civilians bearing the brunt of the violence, and urgent calls for peace echo worldwide.