Two individuals lost their lives and 13 others sustained injuries in Kyiv following the assault by Russian missiles and drones on various locations in Ukraine overnight, as confirmed by Ukrainian authorities on Saturday.
The strike in Kyiv ignited multiple fires and caused destruction to residential structures, including a kindergarten, as per city officials.
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko remarked, “These attacks once again targeted our civilian population and infrastructure,” emphasizing Russia’s attempt to generate a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine during winter.
Furthermore, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha noted that Russian missiles and drones had also attacked the energy grid, railways, and residences in Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Sumy.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with ‘coalition of the willing’ countries in the U.K., and Mark Rutte, secretary general of NATO, hailed recent U.S. sanctions on Russia as a means to bring them to the negotiation table.
The Russian Defence Ministry stated in a Telegram announcement that the overnight strikes were aimed at Ukraine’s military-industrial complex enterprises and energy infrastructure sites supporting its operations.
Separately, the Russian Defence Ministry reported that its forces successfully intercepted 121 Ukrainian drones overnight, including seven approaching Moscow.
Zelenskyy urges for Western air defence systems
On Saturday morning, thick plumes of smoke enveloped Kyiv as firefighters worked to extinguish fires throughout the city.
By midday, they had contained one fire in a 140,000-square-foot warehouse with the assistance of two helicopters and extinguished another blaze in a separate building.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine stressed the necessity of Patriot air defence systems in safeguarding Ukrainian cities against ongoing Russian assaults.
Zelenskyy highlighted on Telegram, “Russia has fired approximately 770 ballistic missiles and over 50 ‘Kinzhal’ missiles at Ukraine just this year. This underscores the urgency of deploying Patriot systems to protect our cities from such atrocities. It is crucial for our capable partners to implement our recent discussions.”