Russia-Ukraine War: Moscow launches deadly large-scale attack on Kiev, kills 13, injures 100 | Today’s news

Days after Russia said Ukraine had launched a drone attack on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant over the weekend, Moscow launched a large-scale, deadly attack on the Ukrainian capital Kiev on Tuesday (local time).

The deadly attack damaged residential and commercial buildings and killed at least 13 people, CNN reported, citing authorities, who added that the attack was part of a broad offensive targeting targets across Ukraine.

Read also | IAEA concerned after Russia claims Ukraine attacked nuclear power plant

Over 100 injured across the country

Officials noted that four people were killed in the capital and nine in central Dnieper, while more than 100 were injured across the country, 65 of whom were injured in the city.

Russian attacks were reported in Dnipro, where at least 35 people were injured, and in Kharkiv, where 14 were injured, including a child. Ukraine’s state emergency service said a rescue operation was underway at the site of a four-story apartment building in Dnipro, which authorities said was “effectively razed to the ground” as six people remain missing.

Damaged residential buildings

Images released by the state’s emergency services there showed the fire engulfing the heavily damaged house as firefighters struggled to bring the flames under control, while the windows and facade of what appeared to be the front room of another house full of rubble were completely blown out.

Kyiv’s air defenses appeared less active during the ballistic missile strike around 7:00 a.m., according to the report. A strong smell of smoke hung in the air throughout the city on Tuesday morning.

The overnight strikes also led to power outages and sent residents into shelters when air raid sirens sounded.

According to the mayor, a suspected rocket attack targeted a 24-story residential building in the Shevchenkivsky district and caused a fire, after which a fire broke out in a nine-story building in Podil after debris hit the roof. Elsewhere in the city, Russian strikes damaged a clinic and debris fell on the grounds of a kindergarten, Klitschko added. In Bucha, three houses, warehouses and non-residential buildings were damaged, Kalashnyk said.

Read also | At least 2 dead as Russia blasts Kyiv with Oreshnik hypersonic missile

Ukrainian authorities are responding to the nighttime attack

Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, described the overnight attack as a “massive enemy attack”. He added that there were fears that people would be trapped under the rubble of a multi-storey apartment building in the Podilsky district, which partially collapsed after a “double strike” by Russia.

Kyiv regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk said: “During the night, the enemy launched massive attacks on Kyiv region using drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. Our peaceful towns and villages were under attack again.”

Russia launched a night attack in Kiev

According to the Ukrainian military, Moscow’s overnight attack involved more than 656 drones and 73 missiles, including advanced hypersonic ones. Ukraine’s air force said a large proportion of the drones and just over half of the missiles were shot down.

Moscow fired at least eight of its advanced Zircon hypersonic missiles at Ukraine, the air force said, adding that none were intercepted. Experts previously told CNN that Zircon missiles are nearly impossible to shoot down.

Russia’s response to the attack

Responding to the overnight attack, Moscow’s Defense Ministry said its “massive strike” targeted Ukraine’s defense, military, fuel and transport facilities in several key regions in response to what it said were “terrorist acts committed by the Kyiv regime,” TASS reported.

According to the state news agency, the overnight attack involved “high precision long-range weapons,” including drones and “hypersonic aeroballistic missiles” launched from the air and sea. Moscow said it had intercepted 148 Ukrainian drones, but added that an oil refinery in Krasnodar caught fire after the drone attack.

Read also | Belarus begins nuclear drills with Russia amid warnings from Kiev

Moscow’s attack came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a warning of a possible large-scale strike. The warning came after Russia said last week it was launching “systematic strikes” against military installations in Kiev.