KYIV — Russian missile strikes struck Kyiv and the surrounding area overnight, killing at least eight people in the capital and injuring 33, Ukrainian officials said Thursday. One more death was reported in the broader Kyiv region.
Ukrainian authorities said the strikes targeted residential buildings, warehouses, a medical facility and an educational institution. Rescue workers searched through the wreckage for survivors trapped under the rubble.
The capital's several districts were hit, including the Solomianskyi district, where an industrial site was hit, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Several locations reported attacks, and parts of the wider Kyiv region lost electricity as a result of the attacks.
One of the damaged facilities was a children’s medical centre. Damage was also reported to an educational institution and residential buildings.
One person was killed and another injured in the Brovary district outside Kyiv, regional officials said.
The strikes hit military-related facilities, including a drone-components production site and a munitions depot in Kyiv, according to the Russian Defence Ministry. Those claims have not been independently checked.
The strike comes as Russia and Ukraine continue a sharp escalation of long-range strikes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia attacked 13 Ukrainian regions in the past week with more than 1,550 drones, nearly 1,560 guided aerial bombs and 62 missiles.
Ukraine has also stepped up attacks inside Russia. Russian authorities said that hundreds of Ukrainian drones targeted Moscow in a major attack earlier this week. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that the Aug. 15-16 attack targeted the capital with about 600 drones.
The strikes also hit Wildberries facilities, one of Russia’s biggest online retailers. Ukrainian officials say repeated attacks on the company’s logistics network have put multiple key facilities out of action. However, the scale of the damage and the strategic importance of the sites should be confirmed independently.
Romania also said a drone entered its airspace near the border with Ukraine, triggering an air alert. The incident underscores the risk of the conflict spreading beyond Ukraine's borders, but the details and source of the drone need to be checked against the latest statement from Romanian authorities before publication.
Separately, Poland said it had taken defensive measures to protect its airspace as the Russian attack unfolded.
The latest strikes come as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict continue, but no ceasefire deal has been reached. In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the fighting has continued for more than four years.
