At least 15 people were killed and dozens wounded in a wave of Russian missile attacks on Kyiv and the surrounding region early Wednesday, as Moscow intensified its campaign against the Ukrainian capital. Residential buildings and warehouses were destroyed in the strikes.
The attacks began after midnight, with air raid sirens sounding across the capital for more than an hour. Ukraine's air force had earlier warned of incoming ballistic missiles.
Kyiv's military administration said seven sites in the city were hit, damaging residential buildings and warehouses. "The enemy is once again deliberately striking civilians and civilian infrastructure," it said on Telegram.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a warehouse near the city center was destroyed, and rescue teams pulled two people from the debris. "There may still be people under the rubble," he wrote. "Search and rescue operations are proceeding."
Klitschko said early reports of a burning 20-story apartment building were inaccurate, but a large fire broke out on the edge of the city. Debris from a downed missile landed near a residential building. The attack also caused an ammonia leak, which emergency crews worked to contain.
Ukrainian air defense units worked to shoot down incoming missiles. Russia has struck Kyiv several times in the past month. On Saturday, strikes on the capital and its suburbs killed 10 people and wounded more than 30. That same day, Ukrainian drones sank a Russian ship in the Black Sea.
Both sides have stepped up long-range strikes in recent weeks. Russia used more than twice as many missiles in July as before, according to an analysis by the French AFP news agency. Ukraine has also increased drone attacks on Russian oil, gas, and supply sites.
On Tuesday, strikes in the Moscow region killed five people and wounded 10 others, hitting warehouses used by Russian retailer Wildberries. Moscow's mayor said the city's air defenses shot down at least 10 drones on Wednesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked allies for more Patriot missile interceptors, saying the lack of these defenses "only encourages Russia to launch such attacks that take human lives." He met with US President Donald Trump last Tuesday to lobby Washington for licenses to build Patriot systems inside Ukraine.
United Nations human rights monitors have raised concerns over increased civilian deaths in the war, now at their highest level since Russia's invasion began in February 2022. Russia and Ukraine both deny targeting civilians.
Source: www.dw.com