Rescuers at work at the scene of Russian strike on a nine-storey residential building in Kyiv on Thursday where four people were killed and at least 10 remain missing. Photo by Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA
A major aerial assault by Russian forces on Kyiv overnight killed at least five people, including a 12-year-old girl, and injured dozens, authorities said Thursday.
A major operation involving 600 Kyiv police and rescue workers recovered the bodies of a 21-year-old man, a 30-year-old man and an unidentified woman from beneath a destroyed nine-story residential block struck during the night.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said in a statement that dozens of residents had been rescued from the building but that rescue units, including specialist dog units, were continuing the search for more than 10 others feared buried in the rubble.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the 12-year-old girl was found dead in a nearby house that had been razed in the attack. He said a 1-month-old baby was among those hurt in the strikes, which destroyed 17 other apartment buildings.
Police said the fifth victim, a man who had been at a gas station when it was hit, passed away in the hospital.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said other residential buildings, a school, a veterinary clinic and other infrastructure were also damaged in the airborne attack in which more than 670 drones and 56 missiles targeted 180 sites across the country.
At least 28 people were injured in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, and two in the key Black Sea port of Odessa in the strikes, which followed a string of deadly attacks in recent days, including a mass drone assault that killed at least six people on Wednesday.
“These are definitely not the actions of those who believe the war is coming to an end,” said Zelensky, referencing claims made by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday that he believed the war was “coming to a close.”
The airborne attacks by both sides halted for the duration of a three-day cease-fire Saturday through Monday announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, but Russia resumed its attacks soon after.
The truce was negotiated to defuse Russian threats to launch a “devastating” attack on Kyiv if Ukraine did anything to disrupt its annual Victory Day parade in Moscow on Saturday.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Thursday’s attacks, while Trump was meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, showed Putin would not stop the war of his own violation.
He urged Trump and Xi to team up to pressure Putin.
“Putin wants this war to continue in order to prolong his control and rule over Russia. There should be no illusions or wishful thinking: only pressure on Moscow can force him to stop,” said Sybiha.
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Wreathes are seen amongst the statues at the Korean War Veterans Memorial during Memorial Day weekend in Washington on May 27, 2023. Memorial Day, which honors U.S. military personnel who died while in service, is held on the last Monday of May. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
