At least 18 people, including 4 children, were killed in Kyiv from the massive attack with unmanned aircraft and missiles that Russia launched during last night. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky now accuses Moscow of preferring to continue “killing” rather than negotiate a peace agreement.
Read: Russian bombardment in Kyiv: 13 dead, including children – Zelensky’s message, video with major explosion in city center
“Russia chooses ballistic missiles instead of the negotiating table,” Zelensky said and called for new sanctions against Moscow. “It chooses to continue killing instead of ending the war,” the Ukrainian president stated. Furthermore, he emphasized that Kyiv expects “the reaction” of the entire world, mainly the imposition of new sanctions on Russia. He specifically called on China, Moscow’s ally, and Hungary, an EU member country that maintains close ties with Russia, to adopt a clear stance.
Damage to EU mission
The attacks caused damage to the European Union mission and the British Council offices in the city, officials said. The European Union and London summoned Russian envoys to protest. There were no reports of casualties at either location. Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko described the attack as one of the largest attacks on the city in recent months. At least 38 people were injured in the attack that lasted for hours and caused damage to buildings in all neighborhoods of the city, officials said.
Across the country, Ukraine’s military reported that Russian attacks hit 13 locations. National grid operator Ukrenergo reported that energy facilities were hit, causing power outages. In total, during Wednesday night into Thursday, Russia launched 598 drones and 31 missiles against Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
Attack on critical infrastructure
The Ukrainian military said Ukrainian air defenses shot down 563 of nearly 600 unmanned aircraft and 26 of the 31 missiles launched by Russia across the country. One attack caused damage to a railway hub in the Vinnytsia region of central Ukraine, where officials said an attack on critical infrastructure left 60,000 residents without power. Ukrainian officials warned that Russia will intensify attacks on the country’s energy grid as winter approaches.
Ukraine’s unmanned aircraft force said it hit the Afipsky and Kuibyshevsky oil refineries as part of this attack. Russia added that its forces used an unmanned speedboat to strike and sink a Ukrainian reconnaissance vessel on Thursday at the mouth of the Danube River.
Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesman for Ukraine’s navy, said the attack killed one person and several others were wounded or missing. He did not comment on the location of the attack. The Danube ports are extremely important for Ukraine, serving as an alternative to Black Sea ports through which fuel and other critical cargo are imported into the country.
Russia said its attack hit military industrial facilities and air bases and that Ukraine had also attacked Russian targets. The Kremlin said it remains interested in continuing peace talks.
US response
Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine condemned today the “outrageous” Russian strikes on Kyiv that killed at least 18 people, including four children. He also emphasized that they undermine the American president’s mediation efforts.
“These outrageous attacks threaten the peace that the US president is trying to achieve,” Keith Kellogg commented and noted that the strikes killed “innocent civilians” and caused damage to European Union and United Kingdom delegations in the Ukrainian capital.
