At least seven people have been killed, including a 12-year-old girl, in Kyiv after Russia launched a massive wave of drone and missile strikes on the Ukrainian capital and other regions, officials said. The victims' bodies were pulled from the rubble of a partially destroyed apartment building in Kyiv, where rescuers are searching for at least 20 people feared missing, Ukraine's emergencies service said.
Dozens more have been wounded in the attack, including two children, the city's mayor said. Twenty-one people are being treated in hospital. It marks the third day in a row Ukraine has reported deaths, as Moscow ramps up its assault after a three-day ceasefire expired on Monday.
The overnight barrage saw more than 670 drones and 56 missiles targeting the country, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. This is among the largest attacks Russia has mounted since the start of its full-scale invasion in 2022. The strikes hit more than 180 sites across Ukraine, including more than 50 residential buildings.
Zelensky said a "significant number" of Russian drones and missiles were shot down, with an "overall interception rate" of 93%. "There must be a just response to all these strikes," he said, calling for allies to hold Moscow accountable and keep global sanctions in place.
In Kyiv, a search and rescue operation began early Thursday to look for people under the rubble of a nine-storey apartment block in the south-western Darnytskyi district. Police said two men, aged 21 and 30, and a woman were found dead in the rubble. The body of a 12-year-old girl was recovered from a nearby house. A man also died in hospital after an attack on a petrol station.
More than 1,500 rescuers and police officers are working in the aftermath, almost 600 of them in Kyiv, said Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko. Dozens of people have been rescued alive from the damaged building and more than 10 people are thought to be missing.
The strikes also damaged other residential buildings, a school, a veterinary clinic and other infrastructure in Kyiv, according to Zelensky, while the mayor said the city's water supply had been disrupted. Zelensky said seven people were injured in the Kyiv region, 28 in Kharkiv, and another two in the Odesa region.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the country urgently needed "help in strengthening its air defence". Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha noted that the attack had taken place during a crucial summit between US President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping, and urged the two leaders to exert pressure on Russia.
The latest attacks came shortly after a three-day, US-brokered ceasefire expired late on Monday. Both Russia and Ukraine reported multiple violations during the truce, but no large aerial attacks. Russia resumed its attacks on Tuesday, killing nine people. Six more people were killed in another major attack on Wednesday. Zelensky said a total of more than 1,560 Russian drones had targeted Ukrainian cities since Tuesday night.
In a separate development, a court in Kyiv has ordered 60 days' pretrial detention for Zelensky's former right-hand man, Andriy Yermak, over a corruption scandal. The court said he could be released on bail of $3.2 million with an electronic tag. Yermak has been named as a suspect in a money-laundering scheme involving a $10.1 million luxury construction project. His lawyer has described the allegations as "baseless". Yermak denied the accusations and said he would appeal.
Source: www.bbc.com