In a renewed assault, Russian forces targeted Kyiv with ballistic missiles, striking at least two districts in the Ukrainian capital early Thursday morning, according to officials.
Kyiv’s Mayor, Vitali Klitschko, reported via Telegram that the attack resulted in two fatalities and injuries to six others, including a 16-year-old. Witnesses in Kyiv reported a series of explosions throughout the city.
Timur Tkachenko, head of the city’s military administration, confirmed that the attacks involved ballistic missiles. This marked the sixth such strike on the capital in July alone, amid a surge in Russian aerial assaults on Ukraine.
The ongoing Russian offensive against Kyiv is exploiting a critical weakness in Ukraine’s air defense systems. Currently, only the U.S.-made Patriot systems are capable of effectively intercepting ballistic missiles, and Ukraine is reportedly out of interceptor stock.
Russian Attack Also Hits Odesa
Emergency services in Ukraine reported that a fire broke out in two storage buildings and nearby parked trucks in one of the affected districts where the fatalities occurred.
In the Sviatoşinski district, located west of the city center, a fire erupted in a single-story warehouse. Emergency services noted that five individuals sustained injuries in the incidents.
The port city of Odesa, located on the Black Sea, was also targeted in a separate attack on Thursday morning. Serhii Lisak, the head of the city’s military administration, reported damage to an educational institution due to the strike.
Moscow Claims to Target Military Assets
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated on Thursday that it struck military and industrial targets in Kyiv involved in the production and storage of medium- and long-range drones.
Additionally, the ministry claimed it targeted infrastructure facilities in the ports of Odesa and Pivdenni, which are used for receiving, storing, and handling military cargo and fuel supplies.
Furthermore, a naval ship and a fast-attack craft belonging to the Ukrainian armed forces were reported struck while heading towards ports in the Odesa region, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Both Moscow and Kyiv have intensified their strikes on key economic targets, with Ukrainian forces attacking Russian energy infrastructure, including oil tankers, while Russia has ramped up its assaults on Black Sea ports in recent weeks.
