Deaths in Ukraine after Zelenskyy warns of Russian strikes
At least eight people have been killed in air strikes across Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned of a "massive Russian attack" citing air force
At least eight people have been killed in air strikes across Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned of a "massive Russian attack" citing air force reports, as Kyiv in turn again bombed a logistics center. At least eight people were killed in Ukraine overnight as Russia said it conducted airstrikes on targets across the whole of the country. One person was killed in an airstrike on Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, while other deaths were reported as far west as Lviv. Explosions were reported over Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russia might conduct a "massive attack." Zelenskyy later wrote that Russia had fired 70 rockets and 280 drones in the attack. Both the Reuters and AFP news agency cited people on the ground as saying they had heard explosions. "Sadly, one death has been confirmed," the Kyiv city military administration wrote on Telegram in the early hours of Thursday. Russia has struck Kyiv with ballistic missiles, said the city's mayor, Vitaly Klitschko, urging people to seek shelter. He added that a few non-residential sites in Kyiv caught fire.
"The enemy is attacking the capital with ballistic weapons. The threat of further attack remains present. Stay in shelters!" Klitschko said. Zelenskyy said at least 10 Ukrainian regions were attacked Image: Sergei Supinsky/AFP Several people killed in Kryvyi Rih Russia also attacked other Ukrainian cities overnight. At least six people, including two girls, were killed in a Russian missile strike on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, according to the head of the local military administration. "In a village on the outskirts of Kryvyi Rih, a direct strike by an Iskander-M ballistic missile, launched from Voronezh, hit a private house where a large family lived, killing girls aged five and 12 and four adults," Oleksandr Vilkul said. He added that a further eight people were wounded and that the death toll may rise. Russian missiles also damaged two apartment buildings and injured six people in Lviv, a city in western Ukraine close to the Polish border, according to local officials. Meanwhile, the Polish Armed Forces announced on X that Poland had scrambled its fighter jets on Thursday to protect its airspace amid Russian air strikes on Ukraine.
"Fighter aircraft and an early warning aircraft have begun operations while ground-based air defense systems and radar reconnaissance systems have reached a state of readiness," the post said, adding that the actions are of a preventive nature. What did Zelenskyy say ahead of the Kyiv explosions? The strikes come as Zelenskyy had warned of a "high probability that the strike will be carried out tonight." "I received a report from Air Force Commander Anatolii Kryvonozhko. The Russians prepared a massive attack several days ago," Zelenskyy said on X. The Ukrainian president stressed that Ukrainians' safety depended on the willingness of Kyiv's allies to provide anti-missile defenses. His statements came on the heels of a trip to the US where he said President Donald Trump had agreed to give Ukraine licenses for Patriot missiles. Zelenskyy on Thursday said, "It is important that our partners fully understand what's happening, and that the protection of lives directly depends on their readiness, or lack thereof, to help us with air defense missiles." Ukraine renews attacks on Russian logistics centers For its part, Ukraine continued its attacks on logistics centers inside Russia on Thursday.
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