At least 53 people were hurt in a Russian missile attack on Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday, with a children’s hospital and a residential apartment building damaged by the barrage.
Ukraine’s Air Force said that 10 ballistic missiles were launched at the capital city at 3 a.m. Anti-missile defenses shot all of them down, but officials said falling debris led to people being injured and damage to buildings.
Ukraine’s national police said 53 people, including six children, were hurt in the attack, of which 18 were hospitalized. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote in a Telegram post that an entrance was damaged and windows were shattered at a children’s hospital in Kyiv’s Dniprovskyi district, but initial assessments found that there were no casualties.
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Serhiy Popko, Kyiv’s military administration chief, said 17 people had to be evacuated from a residential building in the same district. Seven children were among those taken to safety, he said, adding that a fire had erupted when debris struck a building and parked cars. “There are many injured,” he said.
The attack early Wednesday was the second targeting Kyiv this week. On Monday, another missile barrage struck the capital, injuring four. “The enemy is intensifying the missile terror of Kyiv,” Popko said. “In particular, the use of ballistic strikes on the city.”
In statements on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that all 10 of the latest missiles were shot down and thanked his Air Defense Forces. He also used the latest attack to stress the importance of Western military aid to Ukraine in its ongoing resistance to Russia.
“President Biden and I just agreed to work on increasing the number of air defense systems in Ukraine, and the terrorist state demonstrated how critical this decision is,” Zelensky wrote. “Each additional system and missile is vital for Ukraine, our cities, and our people. They are saving lives.”
President Joe Biden on Tuesday warned Republicans that failing to provide more support to Ukraine would be giving Russian President Vladimir Putin “the greatest Christmas gift they could possibly give him.” Zelensky ended his third visit to Washington, D.C. without a new U.S. commitment to further military support for Ukraine as the issue has become intractably tied up in a domestic political battle over American border policy.
“Russia has proven once again that it is a heinous country that fires missiles at night, trying to hit residential areas, kindergartens, and energy facilities during the winter,” Zelensky added in his posts about the latest attack on Kyiv. “There will be a response. Certainly.”
