Russia Launches Major Missile Attack on Kyiv, Wounds 18 People
KYIV, Sept 21 (Reuters) – Ukraine experienced its biggest missile attack in weeks on Thursday as Russia targeted Kyiv and other areas across the country. At least 18 people were wounded, energy facilities were damaged, and power cuts occurred, according to Ukrainian authorities.
The missile strikes caused partial power cuts in five regions of Ukraine, bringing back memories of Russia’s air campaign last winter that resulted in widespread power outages for Ukrainian civilians.
According to grid operator Ukrenergo, “Due to the consequences of the first enemy attack in six months, there is damage to energy facilities in the western and central regions.” They reported partial blackouts in the Rivne, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv regions.
Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, stated that Russia fired 43 cruise missiles overnight, with Ukrainian air defenses successfully shooting down 36 of them. Zaluzhnyi added, “The missiles were launched in several waves. They entered Ukraine’s airspace from several directions, constantly changing their route.”
The city of Kyiv and its surrounding region experienced loud blasts as dawn broke, with authorities dispatching rescue teams to multiple locations in the capital. Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that seven people, including a nine-year-old girl, were injured. Missile debris fell in the city center, damaging an infrastructure facility and several non-residential buildings, causing a fire.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko stated that a hotel and several shopping kiosks were damaged in Cherkasy, central Ukraine, and that seven people were injured. The emergency services shared a video on Telegram showing rescuers carrying an injured man on a stretcher amidst a raging fire.
Blasts were also reported in Cherkasy, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskiy, Rivne, Vinnytsia, Lviv, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions. Lviv’s regional governor, Maksym Kozytskyi, mentioned that three Russian missiles hit the city of Drohobych in the west, near the Polish border, damaging an infrastructure facility and warehouses.
Additionally, two people were killed in a dormitory in the southern city of Kherson due to Russian shelling, said governor Oleksandr Prokudin.
These attacks come as Ukraine continues its counteroffensive against Russian forces in the east and south. A Ukrainian intelligence source claimed that Ukraine’s SBU security service and navy struck the Saky air base in Russian-occupied Crimea overnight, causing “serious damage.” However, the Russian military stated that they destroyed 19 Ukrainian drones over Crimea and the Black Sea without providing details on casualties or damage.
It is important to note that Reuters could not independently verify these reports.
Reporting by Olena Harmash; Writing by Tom Balmforth