Kyiv rocked by explosions in new wave of Russian missile attacks
Kyiv (Ukraine): Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed on Sunday that the Ukrainian capital was under a missile attack, with explosions heard across the city. This development comes just two days after a Russian missile strike in President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown claimed the lives of 18 people.
Klitschko said paramedics had been sent to two districts in Kyiv, while the Ukrainian air force said missiles had entered the northern Chernihiv region.
"Explosions in the capital. Air defence is in operation," Klitschko said on Telegram.
"The missile attack on Kyiv continues. Stay in shelters!"
He added that three people were injured so far, and said there was reported wreckage falling in two non-residential sites.
Across Ukraine, air raid alerts were also issued for the Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odesa regions.
The attacks come at a time when US President Donald Trump is pushing for a partial ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, more than three years into Moscow's full-scale invasion, while seeking a thaw in ties with the Kremlin.
On Saturday, Zelensky slammed the US embassy for what he called a "weak" statement that did not blame Russia for the deadly missile strike on his home city Kryvyi Rig. Nine children were among the 18 fatalities.
In one of the deadliest strikes in recent weeks, a Russian missile struck a residential area near a children's playground in the central Ukrainian city.
Seventy-two people were wounded, 12 of them children, Dnipropetrovsk regional governor Sergiy Lysak said after emergency operations ended overnight.
In an emotional statement on social media, Zelensky named each of the children killed in the attack, accusing the US embassy of avoiding referring to Russia as the aggressor.
"Unfortunately, the reaction of the American embassy is unpleasantly surprising: such a strong country, such a strong people -- and such a weak reaction. They are even afraid to say the word 'Russian' when talking about the missile that killed the children", Zelensky wrote.
AFP