Casualties in Kyiv Following Russian Attack

SadaNews - The military administration in Kyiv announced on Thursday morning that a nighttime Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital resulted in the deaths of two individuals. The head of the military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, wrote on Telegram: "Unfortunately, we have two fatalities. These two people were killed by the Russians," following his earlier announcement of one injury during the attack.

 

Kyiv witnessed a wide-scale attack by Russian drones on the night of Wednesday-Thursday, which resulted in at least seven injuries. The military administration urged the capital's residents to immediately head to shelters after detecting Russian ballistic missiles threatening the city.

Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, posted on Telegram that "one injured person was taken to the hospital in the Solomyansky area," before later announcing another injury in the same area. He added that "the attack on the capital is ongoing, and hostile drones continue to approach the city."

Debris falling from the drones caused fires in buildings in the Solomyansky and Shevchenkivskyi areas, as well as in garages and a gas station in the Darnytskyi area of Kyiv.

Journalists from the Agence France-Presse reported that loud explosions shook the city throughout the night, while the sky of the capital was illuminated by anti-aircraft fire. During the attack, many residents sought safety in metro stations.

On Wednesday, Ukraine announced that Russia had launched the largest air attack since the start of the war in February 2022, using a mix of missiles and drones in a significant escalation of strikes.

The Ukrainian Air Force clarified that Russia launched 728 drones and 13 missiles, noting that air defenses shot down 711 drones and destroyed at least seven missiles. It also mentioned striking four sites without specifying the extent of the damage, explaining that the main target was the Volyn region of Lutsk.

This Russian escalation comes at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump announced earlier this week that he would send more weapons to Kyiv to support it in facing the Russian attacks, in a move viewed as a reversal of a previous Pentagon decision to halt some critical ammunition supplies to Ukraine.

Despite this, Trump adopted a more conciliatory tone towards Moscow, announcing his readiness to reach a quick end to the war. However, he hinted at strict measures, stating that he is considering supporting a bill imposing severe sanctions on Russia, including a 500% tariff on countries buying Russian oil, gas, and uranium.

In a Cabinet meeting, Trump sarcastically remarked about Russian President Vladimir Putin: "He is very nice all the time, but it turns out that all of this is meaningless." When asked about what action he might take against him, he replied: "I won’t tell you. We want a little surprise."

Direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine remain without significant progress so far, as Moscow has not accepted the unconditional ceasefire proposed by Kyiv, which was also agreed upon by Trump.