Russian missile strike on Kyiv kills nine, injures 28

A Russian ballistic missile attack on Ukraine's capital early Saturday (August 1)killed at least nine people and injured 28 others, local authorities said, as Moscow intensified its campaign of long-range strikes on Kyiv.

Ukraine's State Emergency Service said rescue operations were continuing at multiple impact sites across the capital, warning that the casualty toll could rise.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the city came under a ballistic missile attack that triggered a series of powerful explosions, with AFP reporters counting more than ten blasts across the capital.

The strikes sparked fires in several districts and caused power outages in parts of the city, according to local officials.

The Darnytskyi district suffered the heaviest casualties, where one missile strike killed seven people, including two children, and injured 14 others, emergency authorities said.

In the Solomianskyi district, a five-storey residential building partially collapsed after being hit, leaving two people dead and eight injured, including two children.

Klitschko also reported damage to a residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district, where several people were believed trapped beneath the rubble. Emergency crews were continuing search-and-rescue operations.

The latest strike follows a series of increasingly deadly Russian missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital.

Just two days earlier, a suspected Russian cruise missile crossed into Poland, killing eight people, including six members of the same family, according to Polish authorities.

Following Saturday's attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed calls for Western allies to urgently strengthen Ukraine's air defence capabilities.

According to the BBC, the strike came days after Zelenskyy met U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, where he requested a licence for domestic production of Patriot interceptor missiles in Ukraine.

Speaking after a Cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday, Trump said the United States had not yet approved Patriot production in Ukraine but confirmed that discussions on the issue were continuing.

Source: BBC