9 dead, 124 injured in Russian attack on Ukraine’s Kyiv

MOSCOW:A Russian drone and missile attack hit Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, overnight, killing at least nine people, including a six-year-old boy, and wounding 124 others, Al Jazeera reported, citing a Ukrainian authorities’ statement.

The attack caused widespread damage at 27 locations across four districts in Kyiv, according to city military administrator Tymur Tkachenko. Rescue teams are currently searching for people trapped under the rubble.

The attack comes after US President Donald Trump issued a 10- to 12-day ultimatum to Moscow to halt its invasion of Ukraine or face sanctions.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned Russia’s actions, stating that over 300 drones and eight missiles were used in the attack. He shared a video of burning ruins on social media, emphasising that “peace without strength is impossible.”

“Today, the world once again saw Russia’s response to our desire for peace, shared with America and Europe,” Zelenskyy wrote. “That is why peace without strength is impossible. But forcing Moscow to make peace, compelling them to come to a real negotiating table – all the tools needed for this are in the hands of our partners.”

According to Al Jazeera, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said it was a “horrible morning in Kyiv.”

“The brutal Russian strikes destroyed entire residential buildings and damaged schools and hospitals,” Sybiha said.

Yana Zhabborova, a resident of one of the damaged buildings, woke up to the sound of the explosions, which blew off the doors and windows of her home.

“It is just stress and shock that there is nothing left,” said Zhabborova, a 35-year-old mother of a five-month-old and a five-year-old.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said the attack had targeted and hit Ukrainian airfields and ammunition depots as well as businesses linked to what it called Kyiv’s military-industrial complex.

The Ukrainian air force later said its air defences intercepted and jammed 288 of the 309 drones involved in the attack and three of the eight missiles, as per Al Jazeera.

Ukrainian drones later struck an electronics plant in the western Russian city of Penza, according to Governor Oleg Melnichenko and an official from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). The official said the plant, which produces combat control systems for the Russian military, caught fire. Melnichenko confirmed that it caught fire.

Drone wreckage also halted some trains in the Volgograd region, state rail operator Russian Railways said.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said on Thursday that it had shot down 32 Ukrainian drones overnight. (ANI)