Russia launched a large-scale air strike on the night of Tuesday into Wednesday against Ukraine. Explosions were heard in Kiev and other cities, according to Ukrainian officials, who said there were also casualties.
Moscow's attack came shortly after Ukraine launched Storm Shadow missiles in a major attack on Russia, according to the General Staff, The Kyiv Independent notes. The attack targeted the Bryansk Chemical Plant in the Russian region of the same name, which produces key components for Russian missiles, according to the source cited.
Russian attacks on Ukraine overnight that targeted energy facilities killed two people and set fire to homes in Kiev, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday, as a summit between Russian and US leaders was postponed after Moscow rejected a ceasefire.
The remains of the downed projectiles were scattered all over Kiev, causing fires in almost half of the city's districts, Timur Tkachenko, head of the Ukrainian capital's military administration, said on the Telegram app.
The White House on Tuesday postponed a planned summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin after Moscow rejected calls for an immediate truce. A senior US official told Reuters there were no plans for a meeting soon.
Fires in several areas of Kyiv
“Throughout the night, the enemy hit the country's energy infrastructure,” Svitlana Hrynchuk, Ukraine's energy minister, said in a Telegram post. “The massive attack continues,” she added.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 10 people had been rescued from a building fire in the capital's Dniprovskyi urban district, where one person's body was found. Tkachenko said one other person was killed in the attack on the city.
Fires also broke out in Pecherskyi, Desnianskyi and Darnytskyi districts, both officials said. Pecherskyi District is home to the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, a symbol of Ukraine's spiritual and cultural history, the oldest Orthodox monastery in the Russian-invaded country.
Ukrainian officials said the attacks, which lasted most of the night and were still continuing Wednesday morning, were initially carried out with ballistic missiles, followed by drone strikes. Russia has not made any statement on this issue.
Other Ukrainian cities were also targeted
Reuters witnesses said they heard a series of explosions that appeared to come from air defense systems in action.
In the region around Kiev, a house caught fire following the Russian attack, injuring an elderly woman, the region's governor, Mykola Kalashnyk, said on Telegram.
In the Zaporozhye region of southeastern Ukraine, which is on the front line and has been subject to continuous attacks and shelling by Russian forces, 13 people were injured in overnight attacks, Ivan Fedorov, the region's governor, said on Wednesday.
In the central Poltava region, oil and gas facilities in Mîrhorod were damaged by the Russian attack, the local governor said.
Russia has consistently hit Ukrainian energy facilities since launching its full-scale invasion of the country in 2022, claiming they are a legitimate military target in the war.
The Romanian authorities sent an RO-Alert message in the north of Tulcea County, warning of the possibility of objects falling from the airspace, according to News.ro.
