According to Ukrainian officials, two individuals lost their lives and 13 others sustained injuries in Kyiv due to Russian missiles and drones striking various locations in Ukraine overnight, including infrastructure and energy facilities. The attack in Kyiv resulted in multiple fires and inflicted damage on residential structures, including a kindergarten, as reported by city authorities.
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko commented on the situation, stating, “These strikes once again targeted our civilian and energy infrastructure.” She accused Russia of trying to create a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine coinciding with the onset of winter.
Furthermore, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha revealed that Russian missiles and drones also attacked the energy grid, railroads, and residences in Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Sumy.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with ‘coalition of the willing’ countries in the U.K. and Mark Rutte, secretary general of NATO, welcomed recent U.S. sanctions on Russia as a way to draw them to the negotiating table.
The Russian Defence Ministry, in a statement on Telegram, clarified that the overnight attacks were aimed at Ukraine’s military-industrial complex enterprises and energy infrastructure supporting its operations. Additionally, the Defence Ministry reported downing 121 Ukrainian drones overnight, including seven heading towards Moscow.
On Saturday morning, large smoke clouds were visible over Kyiv as firefighters worked to extinguish fires across the city. By midday, they had contained a fire in a 140,000-square-foot warehouse with the assistance of two helicopters and had successfully put out another building fire.
Zelenskyy advocates for Western air defence systems
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy highlighted the necessity of Patriot air defence systems in safeguarding Ukrainian cities against continuous Russian assaults, following the recent attacks. He emphasized the importance of partners possessing relevant capabilities to implement discussed strategies to counter such threats.
Zelenskyy further stated on Telegram, “Since the beginning of this year alone, Russia has launched about 770 ballistic missiles and more than 50 ‘Kinzhal’ missiles at Ukraine.” He reiterated the urgent need for Patriot systems to defend cities against such attacks and called for support from America, Europe, and G7 nations to mitigate threats to human lives.
Ukraine’s air force reported intercepting four out of nine missiles and 50 out of 62 drones launched in the overnight assaults, with five direct missile