Ukrainian officials reported on Sunday that three people, including an infant, were killed in Russia’s overnight attacks on Kyiv. The strikes, which also injured 18 people, set fire to numerous buildings in the capital, including a government building. According to Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko, the attack began with a barrage of drones, followed by missile strikes, which caused a fire to break out in the city center government building.
Reuters witnesses observed thick smoke rising from the building in the Pecherskyi district. Klitschko stated on the Telegram messaging app that the drone attacks killed an infant and a young woman, while a pregnant woman was among the five people hospitalized. Earlier, Klitschko had reported that an elderly woman died in a bomb shelter in the Darnytskyi district, located east of the Dnipro River.
Widespread Damage to Civilian Infrastructure
State emergency officials confirmed that a fire broke out on two floors of a four-story residential building in the Darnytskyi district, with its structure partially destroyed. In the western district of Sviatoshynskyi, several floors of a nine-story residential building were also partially destroyed. The mayor added that falling drone debris ignited fires in a 16-story apartment building and two more nine-story buildings. Photographs posted by emergency officials on social media showed smoke pouring out of apartment buildings, some with collapsed floors and crumbled facades.
Timur Tkachenko, the head of the capital’s military administration, said on Telegram that Russia was “deliberately and consciously striking civilian targets.” Elsewhere in Ukraine, dozens of explosions shook the central city of Kremenchuk, cutting power to some areas, according to Mayor Vitalii Maletskyi. In the same region, Russian strikes on Kryvyi Rih targeted transport and urban infrastructure, though no injuries were reported. In the southern city of Odesa, civilian infrastructure and residential buildings were damaged, with fires breaking out in several apartment blocks, as reported by regional governor Oleh Kiper.
Moscow has not yet commented on the attacks. Both sides deny targeting civilians, but thousands have died since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. With western Ukraine facing air attack threats, Poland activated its own and allied aircraft to ensure air safety, according to the operational command of the Polish armed forces.
