Ukrainian emergency crews work at the site of a Russian airstrike that razed an apartment building on the outskirts of Kyiv on Thursday. Photo by Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA
At least six people were killed and more than 50 were injured in Kyiv overnight during an hours-long Russian airborne assault on the Ukrainian capital that caused an apartment building to collapse.
Three of the fatalities were in the nine-story apartment block in Sviatoshynskyi, a western outer-suburb.
Kyiv Military Administration Head Tymur Tkachenko said a six-year-old boy was among those killed and that 10 other children were injured.
Tkachenko warned that with Russian drones and missiles causing widespread damage to more than 25 sites across the city, including a children’s hospital ward, a higher education institution, a school and a kindergarten, he expected the death toll to rise.
The number of children injured was the highest since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Calling the strikes “insidious” and “calculated,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was part of a broader offensive against the eastern half of the country that saw Russia launch more than 300 missiles and eight missiles that also targeted the Dnipro, Poltava, Sumy and Mykolaiv regions.
“The attack was extremely insidious and deliberately calculated to overload the air defense system. Kyiv was the main target for ‘shaheds’, other drones and missiles, though there is damage in other regions as well,” he said in a post on X.
“Rescue operations will continue as long as necessary — until the fate of every person is clarified. There are sufficient forces and resources. I am grateful to everyone who is working to save lives and provide assistance,” Zelensky added.
The latest airborne assault came two days after U.S. President Donald Trump slashed a 50-day deadline for Moscow to agree on a cease-fire with Kyiv or face tough new economic sanctions to “10 or 12 days.”
Trump said he was withdrawing the 7-week window he announced July 14 after meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday at Trump’s Turnberry golf resort on the west coast of Scotland.
“There’s no reason waiting. It’s 50 days. I wanted to be generous, but we just don’t see any progress being made,” Trump said at a joint news conference with Starmer.
