A Russian missile strike killed at least one person and damaged buildings across the Ukrainian capital during the morning rush hour on Friday, city officials said.
People walk at the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine, December 20, 2024. Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko
A Russian missile strike killed at least one person and damaged buildings across the Ukrainian capital during the morning rush hour on Friday, city officials said.
Residents in the city centre heard loud explosions and fires broke out in several buildings, Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv's military administration, said.
Photos from the site showed the wrecked roof of an office block with blown out windows in central Kyiv and firefighters extinguishing a fire after a car was heavily damaged on the street below.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said one person had been killed in the attack. The Kyiv city administration said 11 people had been injured, including five who had been taken to hospital.
Russian forces, who launched their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, used eight missiles in the attack including hypersonic Kinzhal missiles and Iskander/KN-23 ballistic missiles, Popko said earlier on Friday.
Ukraine's air force said it had shot down all five Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles used to attack the capital.
The Russian Defence Ministry said it had struck a command centre used by Ukraine's SBU intelligence agency, a site which it said was involved in the designing and construction of missiles and a U.S.-made Patriot anti-aircraft missile system.
"The goals of the strike have been achieved. All targets have been hit," the ministry said.
Reuters was unable to verify the reports by either side.
Russia has been carrying out airstrikes on Kyiv and other targets, particularly energy infrastructure, as its forces advance in the industrial Donbas region on eastern Ukraine before expected peace efforts next year.
Amid concern in Kyiv that Donald Trump could cut American support for its war effort when he returns to the White House next month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the U.S. president-elect on Thursday to ally with Europe to stop Russia.
Reporting by Anastasiia Malenko in Kyiv and Max Hunder in London;
A senior White House official on Thursday said nuclear-armed Pakistan is developing long-range ballistic missile capabilities that eventually could allow it to strike targets well beyond South Asia, making it an "emerging threat" to the United States.
With a month left in the White House, U.S. President Joe Biden has a long list of foreign and domestic policy actions he hopes to get done before president-elect Donald Trump assumes office, where the Republican is expected to try to reverse much of Biden's record.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he was ready to compromise over Ukraine in possible talks with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on ending the war and had no conditions for starting talks with the Ukrainian authorities.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.