At least 8 dead as Russia strikes Kyiv, other Ukrainian cities - VIDEO
On the night of August 27, Russia carried out a large-scale aerial assault on Ukrainian cities, launching missiles at Kyiv and other regions far from the frontline.
Authorities confirmed that at least eight people lost their lives in the attacks, including a 14-year-old, News.Az reports, citing The Kyiv Independent.
Another 38 people have been injured, and 30 of those victims have been hospitalized, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Several children are among the injured.
Air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine, and residents of nearly every region were urged to seek shelter as Russia launched hypersonic missiles and multiple waves of drones throughout the night. At least four MiG-31 aircraft — jets armed with Kinzhal missiles — took off during the attack.
Kyiv was rocked by explosions as Russia slammed the capital with drones and ballistic missiles, damaging homes, offices, and schools throughout the city. One five-story apartment building took a direct hit and was completely destroyed.
The city was attacked from multiple directions by Shahed-type drones, decoy drones, cruise missiles, and Kinzhal missiles, Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said.
Information about casualties and damage is still being determined. A massive rescue effort is currently underway to clear rubble and retrieve victims who may be trapped under the debris. The response involves around 500 rescuers and 1,000 emergency workers, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.
Explosions were first heard in Kyiv beginning around 9:30 p.m., as Klitschko announced that air defense units were at work over the city. Tkachenko said that air defenses were again activated around midnight as another group of drones approached the city.
Ukraine's Air Force also reported that dozens of drones were flying in swarms above the country's central and southern regions, including Zhytomyr, Odesa, and Mykolaiv oblasts. Aerial alerts were also issued for Ukraine's far-western regions, including Ternopil, Lviv, and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts.
The Air Force later reported that Russia had launched ballistic missile carriers towards central Ukraine.
More rounds of loud explosions were heard in Kyiv at around 3 a.m. local time, according to Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground. Tkachenko announced that Russia had attacked the city with ballistic missiles.
As Kyiv was still reeling from the attack on civilian neighborhoods, Russia launched another wave of cruise missiles towards the capital and other Ukrainian regions at around 5:30 a.m. New explosions rocked Kyiv while rescue workers were still searching for victims under the rubble of buildings hit by ballistic missiles only hours earlier.
Emergency services were dispatched to multiple districts of the city. Tkachenko said that attacks damaged more than 20 locations, including a shopping center in the city center.
In the Darnytskyi district, the attack damaged two residential buildings (one five stories, the other 16). The five-story building was hit directly, causing the structure to collapse from the first to the fifth floor. The Kyiv City Military Administration reported "significant destruction" and said rescue operations are underway.
Another home and a kindergarten in the area were damaged.
Fires also broke out at a three-story office and a 25-story building in the Dniprovskyi district. Drones crashed on the grounds of a nine-story building, and cars in the area caught fire.
In the Shevchenkivskyi district, the attack caused a fire in a residential building and damaged an office, an educational institution, and two non-residential buildings, Klitschko said. In the Solomyanskyi district, a house caught fire.
Damage was also recorded in the Holosiivskyi, Obolonskyi, and Desnianskyi districts.
"In total, the number of damaged objects in Kyiv will again reach hundreds, with thousands of broken windows," Tkachenko said.
Similar news
