Russian missiles and drones early yesterday ripped through apartment blocks in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, killing at least 15 people, including four children, an attack that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said showed Moscow’s rejection of peace negotiations.
Russia has rained down aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities despite US President Donald Trump’s push for a ceasefire and even as it talks up the importance of ending the war, started by its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The attack — one of the deadliest on Kyiv — blasted a five-story crater in one apartment block, ripping the building in two.
Photo: Reuters
Rescuers carried victims away in body bags as they sifted through the smoldering rubble, and heavy construction machinery was deployed to scoop up mounds of debris.
Officials said that several people were believed to be still trapped under the collapsed building.
“Glass was flying ... we were screaming when the bombs went off,” said Galina Shcherbak, who was at a parking lot close to one of the strikes.
Photo: Reuters
The Ukrainian Air Force said Moscow fired 629 drones and missiles, which would make it the second-largest overnight barrage of the war, according to Agence France-Presse’s analysis of Kyiv’s data.
Andriy, whose apartment was destroyed in the strike, said that he had only just made it out alive.
“If I had gone to the shelter a minute later, I would not be here now, I would have been buried,” he said. “I came out, could not hear anything, there was fog everywhere, and my left eye was completely covered in blood.”
Zelenskiy called the attack “a horrific and deliberate killing of civilians.”
“The Russians are not choosing to end the war, only new strikes,” he said on social media, calling for Moscow to face fresh sanctions.
“For the spurning of ceasefire and for the constant Russian attempts to weasel out of negotiations, new strong sanctions are needed,” he added.
The Kremlin said it was still interested in diplomacy, but that its strikes on Ukraine would “continue.”
“The Russian armed forces are fulfilling their tasks,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “They continue to strike military and military-adjacent infrastructure facilities.”
“At the same time, Russia remains interested in continuing the negotiation process. The aim is to achieve our goals through political and diplomatic means,” he added.
The EU summoned Russia’s ambassador after the overnight barrage damaged its delegation offices in Kyiv, while the British Council said its premises had been “severely damaged” and would be closed until further notice.
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