Russia’s attack on Ukraine has killed at least 11 and trapped others in damaged buildings
Russia attacked Ukraine with a barrage of missiles and drones overnight, killing at least 11 people, wounding dozens and imprisoning others, authorities said Tuesday.
Russia launched 73 missiles and 656 aircraft across Ukraine, according to the country’s military, with key targets including Kyiv, the central city of Dnipro, and the eastern cities of Poltava, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia. Ukrainian air defense forces destroyed and suppressed 40 missiles and 602 drones.
Hits of 30 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and 33 drones were recorded in at least 38 locations. Debris from the destroyed drones fell in 15 places, the air force said.
At least four people died in Kyiv and 63 were injured, including three children, Ukrainian emergency services said in a statement on Telegram.
Residential buildings and other public infrastructure were damaged in eight districts of Kyiv.
In the center of Dnipropetrovsk region, at least six people died and 36 others were injured after Russian strikes in the city of Dnipro, according to emergency services.
The second attack when first responders arrived on the scene killed one rescuer.
In Kharkiv, at least 14 people were injured and houses, garages and cars were damaged.
A two-story residential building and part of a four-story building were damaged, with people trapped under the debris of the main building.
Fireworks rang out almost all night until dawn.
Kyiv has been bracing for another mass attack for days, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia was preparing for renewed attacks and urged people to be vigilant and seek shelter during air raid alerts.
In the Podilskyi district, there was damage to the upper floors of a nine-story building, trapping people under the rubble.
Rescue operations were still underway in the early hours of the morning, even as an air raid warning remained in effect.
In Solomianskyi district, a 20-story building and a 24-story building were damaged.
Olena Dniprovska, 65, and her husband Yevhen, 64, were injured in their apartment in Kyiv’s Podilskii district during the attack.
“I went out to the corridor with the phone, and before I could understand what happened, everything fell on my head, the glass, and the door blew,” said Dniprovska, with dried blood on her face and a bandage on her chin. “I went out and ran into the door and started calling my husband from inside the house, but he was also hit by the blast.”
“Now I have no place to live, the apartment has been destroyed, it has no doors, no windows, no balcony. You can leave the room and go out into the street,” he said.
Ukrainian officials have been pressing their allies to acquire more air defense missiles to counter Russian ballistic missile attacks. While Ukraine continues to intercept a high percentage of drones, ballistic missiles remain a major threat to the country’s air defenses.
