Almost every district in Kyiv was hit by a “massive” attack Friday morning, the Ukrainian capital’s mayor said, with AFP journalists reporting explosions in the city centre as Russia intensifies its attacks on infrastructure.
At least six people were killed and dozens more wounded in overnight strikes across the country, Ukrainian officials said.
Missiles and drones targeted critical infrastructure facilities in the capital on Friday, said Mykola Kalashnyk, the head of the Kyiv regional military administration.
Moscow, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has particularly targeted Ukrainian energy facilities and rail systems, as well as residential areas in recent months.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko called it a “massive enemy attack”, saying air defence forces were in operation.
The Ukrainian emergency services added that “more than 40 people have been rescued” from fires and destruction across the city.
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“Sections of heating networks were damaged,” Klitschko said on Telegram, adding that some buildings in northeastern Desnyansky district had been temporarily left without heat.
Electricity and water supplies could also be disrupted, he added.
Zelensky said on Friday that Russia had launched around 430 drones and 18 missiles in overnight attacks across the country, killing at least six people.
“This was a deliberately calculated attack aimed at causing maximum harm to people and civilian infrastructure,” Zelensky wrote on X.
In Kyiv, AFP journalists saw tracer bullets used against drones and several anti-missile systems deployed.
“Russians are hitting residential buildings. There are a lot of damaged high-rise buildings throughout Kyiv, almost in every district,” Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the city’s military administration, wrote on social media.
Klitschko reported fires or damage to buildings in eight of Kyiv’s 10 districts, saying medical emergency teams were deployed to all of them.
A fire broke out on the roof of a five-storey residential building in Solomyansky district, a transport hub near Kyiv’s international airport.
Azerbaijan said it had summoned the Russian ambassador for a dressing-down on Friday after its embassy in Kyiv was also hit in the attack on the Ukrainian capital.
“During the meeting, a strong protest was expressed in connection with the fall of one of the Iskander-type missiles onto the territory of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan,” the Azerbaijani foreign ministry said in a statement.
The resulting blast destroyed part of the embassy’s perimeter and damaged buildings, cars and the embassy compound, it added.
Entrenched war
The attack comes as Kyiv’s Western allies ratchet up pressure on Russia.
On Wednesday, Canada unveiled new sanctions targeting Russia’s drone and energy production, as well as infrastructure used to launch cyberattacks.
G7 foreign ministers that day called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, voicing “unwavering” support for the country’s territorial integrity.
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And the European Commission is considering using part of Russia’s assets frozen after its invasion to provide Kyiv with a loan for budgetary and military support over the next two years.
But after almost four years of war, both sides are heavily entrenched with Moscow rejecting ceasefire calls and efforts by US President Donald Trump to revive a long-stalled peace deal.
Russian forces have been grinding across eastern Ukraine for months, trying to take control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Russia said Monday it had captured three more villages along the sprawling front line, where it is pressing its advantage in manpower and equipment.
Experts say Russia’s latest strikes on energy infrastructure are putting Ukraine at risk of heating outages ahead of the winter months.
Russia intercepts more than 200 Ukrainian drones
Ukraine has, in turn, stepped up attacks on Russian infrastructure and sought to strike further beyond the front.
Russian forces downed more than 200 Ukrainian drones overnight into Friday, Moscow’s defence ministry said, including 66 over Krasnodar Krai and 45 over Saratov in the south.
A fire broke out at the Sheskharis oil refinery, one of the largest in Russia, in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, before being brought under control, Krasnodar Krai authorities said.
A civilian vessel was also damaged, with three of the crew wounded and hospitalised, they added.
A top Russian nuclear official said on Friday that around eight Ukrainian drones had tried to attack the Novovoronezh nuclear power plant in southwest Russia overnight, but all were shot down.
Alexei Likhachev, CEO of state nuclear corporation Rosatom, said several units of the plant were disconnected from the grid, but operations were restored in the morning.
Russia and Ukraine have each accused the other of risking catastrophe by attacking nuclear sites in the course of the war.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters and AP)
