Russian attack on Kyiv leaves at least four people dead

Four people were killed after Russia unleashed a massive combined attack on Kyiv, sparking fires and scattering debris across many districts of the capital, Ukrainian authorities said.

At least 27 people were injured as emergency crews responded to multiple strikes, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration.

At least 430 drones and 18 missiles were used in the attack across the country, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said.

He said the attack, which struck other regions of the country, was targeting Kyiv.

“A specially calculated attack to cause as much harm as possible to people and civilians,” Mr Zelensky said in a post on Telegram.

He added the Azerbaijan Embassy was damaged by fragments of an Iskander missile.

Fifteen people were taken to hospital, including one man in critical condition and a pregnant woman, after a series of powerful explosions sounded in the city and airs defences were activated.

City authorities warned that power and water outages are possible.

In the Darnytskyi district, debris landed in the yard of a residential building and on the grounds of an educational facility. A car caught fire after being hit by falling fragments.

In the Dniprovskyi district, debris damaged three apartment buildings, a private household and caused a fire in an open area.

In the Podilskyi district, five residential buildings and a non-residential structure were damaged.

In the Shevchenkivskyi district, falling debris sparked a fire in an open area near a medical facility and inside a nonresidential building.

In the Holosiivskyi district, debris ignited a fire at a medical facility and damaged another nonresidential building.

In the Desnianskyi district, fires were recorded in two residential buildings.

In the Solomianskyi district, a fire broke out on the roof of a residential building.

In the Sviatoshynskyi district, debris caused a fire in a private home.

In the Kyiv region, Russian strikes damaged critical infrastructure and private homes, injuring at least one civilian, regional head Mykola Kalashnyk said.

A 55-year-old man in Bila Tserkva suffered thermal burns and was taken to hospital, he said. Fires broke out in private houses in the capital’s suburbs.

The strike came as European Union officials warned this week that Ukraine must continue to crack down on corruption following a major graft scandal that has put top nuclear energy officials under scrutiny.

But they also offered assurances that aid will continue to flow as Kyiv strains to hold back Russia’s invasion.

In response to Russia’s continuing onslaught, Ukraine has launched its own domestically developed drones and missiles against targets on Russian soil, especially oil refineries and depots that provide Moscow with income and manufacturing plants that supply the armed forces.

The Russian Defence Ministry said on Friday that its air defence forces shot down 216 Ukrainian drones overnight over a number of Russian regions and annexed Crimea.

Most drones — 66 — were intercepted over the southern Krasnodar region that borders Crimea. A total of 45 drones were destroyed over the Saratov region deeper inside Russia. Another 19 were shot down over Crimea.

In Novorossiysk, a port city in the Krasnodar region, the attack damaged an oil depot at the Sheskharis transshipment complex, as well as unidentified “coastal structures”, local authorities said.

According to the Meduza independent news outlet, Sheskharis is one of the largest oil loading complexes for transshipment of oil and oil products in the south of Russia. It is managed by Transneft.

Falling drone debris also damaged a civilian vessel in the port, and three crew members have been taken to hospital with injuries.

Several residential buildings were also damaged, and a man from one of those buildings was taken to hospital with injuries.

In the Saratov region, governor Roman Busargin said that the attack damage unspecified “civilian infrastructure”.

Unconfirmed media reports say that an oil refinery was hit.