KYIV: At least 18 people were killed and over 85 others wounded after a relentless 11-hour Russian missile and drone barrage battered Ukraine's capital overnight into Thursday (local time), just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Moscow was orchestrating a massive assault.
According to CNN, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko confirmed the mounting toll, stating that 18 people had been killed in the assault. Emergency crews worked continuously through the night to reach survivors trapped inside heavily hit structures.
The expansive overnight bombardment triggered widespread destruction across 30 distinct locations in the capital. The casualties included at least one child, alongside multiple emergency personnel who were injured when an ambulance substation was hit, CNN reported.
"There have been very significant direct hits on residential buildings, where, unfortunately, the bodies of the deceased are being recovered from under the rubble," said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city's military administration, according to CNN.
On the other hand, CNN reported that the Russian Ministry of Defence acknowledged the large-scale operation, stating that its military launched a "massive strike using high-precision, long-range weapons", including drones, targeting military and energy infrastructure in Kyiv and the Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Cherkasy and Chernihiv regions.
However, Ukrainian authorities firmly disputed the Kremlin's operational narrative, presenting evidence that the strikes intentionally flattened civilian neighbourhoods and non-military sites, CNN reported. (ANI)
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