A missile attack on Kyiv early Friday morning killed at least one person and injured 12 others, according to Ukrainian authorities. Several embassies also sustained damage in the attack, which Ukraine attributed to Russian forces.
The Kyiv City Military Administration confirmed the casualties via Telegram, reporting that five of the injured were hospitalised while others received on-site treatment.
The attack, which began around 7am, involved five ballistic missiles, all intercepted by Ukrainian air defences, according to Ukraine’s air force command. 40 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were also destroyed, and 20 more drones failed to reach their targets.
Despite the defence efforts, falling debris caused widespread damage and injuries in Kyiv’s city center.
Infrastructure across multiple districts were impacted due to the impact of debris, according to Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration. “In one district, an office building, road surface, and gas pipe were damaged, and five cars caught fire,” Popko said in a Telegram post. Another district saw a building under construction catch fire due to falling debris.
Among the damaged sites were embassies of several countries, including Albania, Argentina, Palestine, North Macedonia, Portugal, and Montenegro, according to Ukraine’s foreign ministry. Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi condemned the attack as “barbaric,” mentioning that windows and doors of embassy premises were shattered.
Portugal’s foreign ministry reported light damage to its facility and summoned Russia’s charge d’affaires to protest the incident.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed responsibility for the strike, stating that it targeted Ukrainian military facilities in retaliation for a recent Ukrainian missile attack on a chemical plant in Russia’s Rostov region.
The ministry said the strike focused on a command post of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Kyiv Luch design bureau, and positions of the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system. “The strike targets were achieved. All objects were hit,” the ministry wrote on Telegram.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack, calling for increased sanctions against Russia. He also expressed gratitude to international partners for their continued support in bolstering Ukraine’s air defence systems.
“I thank all of our partners who are responding to this and other Russian attacks by being ready to provide more air defence systems,” Zelenskyy said, as reported by CNN.
Meanwhile, Russian forces also targeted the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson with heavy shelling, killing two people and injuring 10, according to Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson regional military administration.