Kyiv: Ukraine’s capital Kyiv was rocked by a major Russian drone-and-missile barrage on Sunday that killed four people in the capital and nearby area and left more than 80 injured, officials said.
Explosions echoed across Kyiv shortly after 1 a.m., after Ukraine’s air force warned on Telegram that Russia could launch a hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy later confirmed that Russia had used the nuclear-capable intermediate-range weapon, agencies reported.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two people were killed and 56 injured in the city, and 30 of the wounded were taken to hospital. He said the historic Independence Square area also suffered damage.
“It was a terrible night for Kyiv,” Klitschko said in a Telegram message from the site of one attack. “Right now, rescuers are putting out fires and clearing debris. Medics are providing assistance to the victims.”
Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired 600 drones and 90 missiles overnight, including a medium-range ballistic missile. It said air defences shot down 549 drones and 55 missiles.
As the attacks continued, many people spent the night in metro stations for shel
ter. Nataliia Zvarych, 62, said she ran to the station after the first explosions were heard.
“It was terrifying, scary,” she said. “We have been sitting here for more than three hours now, listening to the explosions up there.”
The head of Kyiv’s military administration said more than 40 sites across the city were damaged.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, Mykola Kalashnyk, governor of the wider Kyiv region, said two more people were killed and nine others were injured outside the capital.
By morning, smoke from several fires hung over the city, while rescue crews worked to put out flames and move the injured to safety. Images showed the front wall of a five-storey residential building had collapsed, and officials said offices, shops, warehouses and a metro station entrance were also hit.
Zelenskiy had warned on Saturday that Russia was preparing to use the Oreshnik missile, citing intelligence from Ukraine, the United States and Europe.
Russia has already used the Oreshnik twice in attacks on Ukraine. Putin says the missile can carry a nuclear warhead, has a range of several thousand kilometres and is impossible to intercept because it reportedly flies at more than 10 times the speed of sound.
Zelenskiy’s warning followed Putin’s order for military retaliation options after a Ukrainian drone strike on a student dormitory in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region on Friday.
Ukraine denied that accusation and said it had targeted a Russian drone command unit.
Poland scrambled military aviation during the attack, but said its airspace was not violated.