Russia has launched its biggest drone strike since the start of the war. Alarms sounded at 11 o'clock in Kyiv
A huge wave of Russian attacks targeted the capital of Ukraine, Kiev, overnight, killing at least eight people and injuring at least 44 others, according to Ukrainian authorities, reports CNN, taken over by News.ro.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had launched more than 1,560 drones over Ukraine since early Wednesday — the largest airstrike on Ukraine in a two-day period since the start of the war. Another 56 rockets were launched during the night, Zelenski said on Thursday.
Air raid alarms sounded for about 11 hours throughout the day and overnight Wednesday, according to a CNN crew on the scene.
At least seven people were killed in an attack on a nine-story block of flats in Kiev, according to emergency services. Authorities pulled several bodies from the rubble in the hours following the attack, including that of a 12-year-old girl.
There may still be tenants trapped under the rubble of the collapsed building, as the State Emergency Service said more than 12 people were missing.
“I heard a loud explosion. I ran into the kitchen and saw people running around the yard, calling for help. Then I rushed out of the building and saw that the main entrance was gone,” Olena Suntovska, 38, a resident of the apartment block, told CNN. “I was scared – it's very stressful for me because I was worried about the children,” added the mother-of-three.
Another tenant, Polina, aged 76, said she woke up to find that her balcony window had been broken.
“I never imagined the damage would be so bad; when I went out into the yard, I couldn't believe what I was seeing,” said Polina. “We don't have a proper shelter here. There's only one in a nearby building, not ours, so we're not going down (underground) anywhere,” she pointed out.
Another Kiev man died in hospital from injuries sustained in an attack on a gas station, police said.
Zelensky promises a response from Ukraine
The mayor of the Ukrainian capital described the attack as “the most extensive” and declared Friday a day of mourning.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the two-day airstrike came after Russia “accumulated drones and missiles for a while and deliberately timed the attack to ensure that its scale was significant and the challenges to air defense were as great as possible.” He added that Ukraine is preparing a response.
Meanwhile, attacks on the city of Kharkiv on Thursday morning injured at least 28 people, according to Zelensky. Two people were also injured in the Odesa region.
The wave of large-scale Russian attacks also targeted other regions, including Poltava and Zaporozhye, and damaged some energy and railway infrastructure.
An electrical substation and a high voltage line were damaged in Kiev following an attack with missiles and drones, the energy company DTEK announced in a statement. A locomotive was hit in the Kharkiv region, according to Ukrzaliznîtia (Ukrainian Railways), but the locomotive crew managed to evacuate in time.
