At least 21 people, including four children, were killed and many others injured in overnight attacks by Russia using drones and missiles in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
According to Officials, the entire city was rocked by loud explosions. These attacks damaged buildings in a total of 33 places in all 10 districts of Kyiv, including the headquarters of the European Union Mission in Ukraine and the British Council.
According to RT, the operation struck several weapons plants and airfields, with Moscow confirming earlier reports of an attack from Kiev.
Ukraine’s military claimed it intercepted most of the incoming drones and missiles but acknowledged successful Russian strikes at 13 locations, as well as additional damage caused by debris from downed weapons. One of the attacks was reportedly captured on CCTV, with footage circulating online showing two missiles hitting the same location in central Kiev.
Some reports identified the site as the office of defence company Ukrspecsystems on Zhilyanskaya Street, which police cordoned off on Thursday, RT noted. Ukrspecsystems, founded in 2014, manufactures unmanned aerial vehicles, including the long-range PD-2, which has reportedly been used in kamikaze drone attacks deep inside Russian territory, including Moscow. Separately, Lviv city council member Igor Zinkevich claimed that Russia also struck a plant in Kyiv operated by Turkish defence firm Bayraktar, adding that the attack was the fourth of its kind in six months.
Last week, Ukrainian media reported the production launch of a cruise missile dubbed Flamingo, with an estimated range of 3,000 kilometres and a payload of up to 1,000 kilograms. Images of the weapon showed similarities to the FP-5 system, which the British-UAE defence firm Milanion Group unveiled earlier this year at an arms expo in Abu Dhabi. Earlier this month, Russia’s Federal Security Service said it carried out an operation with the military that targeted Ukraine’s Sapsan ballistic missile program, claiming to have infiltrated the project and caused “colossal” damage through subsequent strikes, RT reported.
Moscow has repeatedly accused Western nations of turning Ukraine into a proxy force by supplying weapons and funds, while arguing that Kiev’s war effort is unsustainable and serves foreign rather than Ukrainian interests.
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