KYIV, Ukraine — An early morning Russian missile strike on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, on Friday resulted in at least one fatality and left a dozen others injured, according to officials. Russia has asserted that this attack was retaliation for a Ukrainian missile strike on its territory that employed Western-made armaments.
Witnesses reported hearing several powerful explosions just before daybreak. The Ukrainian Air Force confirmed that it successfully intercepted five Iskander short-range ballistic missiles aimed at the city. The assault disrupted heating supplies for approximately 630 residential buildings, 16 healthcare facilities, and 30 educational institutions, as reported by the local authorities. Missile debris also caused damage and ignited fires across three city districts.
The air force urged residents to act promptly in response to alerts regarding ballistic threats, emphasizing the minimal time available to seek shelter.
Since the onset of the conflict nearly three years ago, Russia has frequently targeted civilian areas in Ukraine, often aiming to cripple the nation’s power infrastructure and instill fear among its populace. As Ukraine strives to counter a larger Russian military presence on the front lines, it has sought to retaliate by targeting Russian infrastructure that supports the ongoing conflict.
In Kyiv’s city center, debris from the strikes impacted numerous high-rise office buildings and inflicted damage on the historic Catholic Church of St. Nicholas and the Kyiv National Linguistic University.
Additionally, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry indicated that the impact of an intercepted missile likely shattered windows and damaged six embassies in the area.
About five hours post-attack, air raid warning sirens echoed through the city once more. Valeriia Dubova, a 32-year-old photographer, sought refuge in a bustling subway station alongside many others. She recounted that during the morning strike, while sheltered at home, she felt her walls tremble from the blasts outside. Emergency vehicles sped through city streets, responding to the chaos.
“From where I stood, you could visibly see several buildings had sustained damage, with shards of glass littering the ground, distant from the epicenter of the explosions,” she noted.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the missile assault was a direct response to a Ukrainian strike carried out two days earlier in the Rostov region of Russia. This prior attack utilized six American-made Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles and four Storm Shadow missiles from the UK.
On the day of the strike, Ukrainian forces claimed that they aimed at a refinery in Rostov as part of their strategy to disrupt Russian operational capabilities.
The Kremlin has expressed outrage over Ukraine’s use of Western-sourced weaponry in its attacks. After restrictions were relaxed on Nov. 19, Ukraine employed longer-range American missiles against Russian targets for the first time.
In response, Russia debuted a new hypersonic missile known as Oreshnik, with President Vladimir Putin alluding to its potential use against key government structures in Kyiv, although reports indicate it has not been deployed again.
In retaliation for the Ukrainian strike on Rostov, the Russian military reported conducting a coordinated operation utilizing “high-precision, long-range weapons” targeting Ukraine’s military intelligence headquarters and additional locations associated with the country’s Neptune missile systems. The operation also aimed at Ukrainian cruise missile systems and U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, according to the Russian Defense Ministry’s statements.
“The strike’s objectives have been fulfilled. All targets were hit,” the ministry claimed through a Telegram post, although there has been no immediate verification of these assertions.
In related events, other Russian strikes on Ukrainian civilian regions resulted in six casualties, including a 15-year-old girl, during missile attacks in Kryvyi Rih, marking a second consecutive night of bombardments in the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Furthermore, Russian shelling in the southern city of Kherson on Friday morning caused considerable destruction and left about 60,000 residents without power, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.