Ukrainian authorities said Russian troops launched a large missile and drone attack on Kiev earlier on Thursday, killing at least nine people in the city and injuring more than 60 people.
An explosion could be heard all night. Brown smoke rises up the city as the sun rises. An missile struck a two-story building and emergency workers hunted for survivors Thursday morning. A five-story building next door lost all its windows. People stood outside, staring at the hurt and talking on their phones, telling their loved ones that they are still alive. There are no military targets nearby.
“We just dug up another person. Alive!” Svitlana Vodolaha, a spokeswoman for emergency services, told reporters at 8:30 a.m. local time.
Ukrainian President's Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak posted a video on social media showing emergency workers outside a building that has been turned into rubble. “Again, Russia attacked civilians,” he said.
The city’s mayor Ihor Terekhov said drones and cruise missiles also hit Kharkif in eastern Ukraine. He said a strike attacked a residential area and rescue efforts continued earlier Thursday. The total number of deaths or injuries across the country has not been notified Thursday morning.
The attack was one of the deadliest attacks in the Kiev War and one of the worst missile strikes on the city since July last year, when Russian missiles killed 41 people in Ukraine, destroyed a children's hospital in Kiev and killed 21 people throughout the city. Recent deadly missile attacks have also targeted the cities of Sumy and Kryvyi Rih.
This is a crucial moment in the war, beginning with the full-scale invasion of Russia in February 2022. On Easter, Russian President Vladimir Putin (V.) was demoted on Wednesday, mainly because of the United States' decision not to participate.
Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has echoed the key points of the Kremlin’s conversations during the war and reversed previous U.S. policies in Ukraine (Ukraine). Over the past week, the Trump administration has repeatedly threatened to get rid of the peace process. On Wednesday, President Trump and his top aides asked Kiev to accept a U.S.-designed plan that appears to grant all the territory Russia acquires in the war, while providing Kiev with vague assurances only for the security of the country’s future.
Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky has so far rejected such a deal.
Andrew E. Kramer From Kharkif, Ukraine and Oleksandra mykolyshyn From Kiev, Ukraine.
