Russian strikes kill four in Ukraine after deadly Kyiv barrage
Ukrainian officials reported new deaths in Sumy and injuries in Kryvyi Rih as Kyiv mourned victims of Russia’s heaviest attack on the capital this year.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
Russian attacks killed at least four people in Ukraine and injured 10 more, Ukrainian officials said Friday, extending a wave of strikes that left Kyiv observing a day of mourning. The new attacks followed what authorities described as the deadliest Russian assault on the Ukrainian capital so far this year.
Oleh Hryhorov, head of the Sumy regional military administration, said a Russian drone hit an apartment building in the border region. He said two women, an elderly man and a toddler were killed, and three other people were injured.
In Kryvyi Rih, a central Ukrainian city in the Dnipropetrovsk region, a missile strike injured seven people, according to Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the city’s defence council. Vilkul said on Telegram that two injured women remained in hospital.
Vilkul said the strike damaged nine apartment blocks, a school building, a business, several shops, garages and about 10 vehicles. He also said two residential buildings lost gas service after the attack.
Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and an industrial hub, has been hit repeatedly during Russia’s war, according to Ukrainian officials.
Kyiv mourns after heavy attack
The latest strikes came after a large overnight Russian attack on Kyiv from Wednesday into Thursday. Ukrainian authorities said the death toll from that assault had risen to at least 30.
Kyiv marked a day of mourning Friday after the attack, which officials called the capital’s deadliest Russian strike of the year. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 496 drones and 74 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and that Ukrainian defenses shot down 476 drones and 48 missiles.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the Russian barrage and renewed his call for a ceasefire, according to his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric. Dujarric said attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure violate international humanitarian law and must stop.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, said it would increase “pressure” on Kyiv. The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said she would propose new sanctions against Moscow in response to the attack.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine would retaliate for the overnight assault. He also said Russian President Vladimir Putin had been preparing the strike against Ukraine for some time.
Russia reports Ukrainian drone attacks
Russian officials said Ukrainian drone attacks on border regions overnight into Friday killed at least two people and damaged several industrial sites. Ukraine has targeted Russian energy infrastructure for months, which it says is aimed at weakening Moscow’s military capacity; Russian President Vladimir Putin has said such attacks are intended to create public discontent.
Valentin Demidov, the mayor of Belgorod in western Russia, said a woman died in a car after being wounded by shrapnel. He also said water and electricity supplies were disrupted in the city, which lies about 40km, or 25 miles, north of the Ukrainian border.
Vesti, citing local officials, reported earlier Friday that an industrial facility caught fire after Ukrainian missile attacks on Belgorod and nearby areas. In Bryansk, acting regional governor Egor Kovalchuk said a man was killed in a village after a drone strike.
Vasily Anokhin, governor of the Smolensk region, said on Telegram that a drone attack caused a fire at an industrial site there. He reported no injuries.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.