Russia launches missile strikes on Kyiv and surrounding region, killing at least eight
Russian forces launched overnight missile strikes on Thursday targeting Kyiv and surrounding regions, destroying apartment buildings and warehouses and leaving at least eight dead with 33 injured. Emergency services conducted rescue operations in collapsed structures whilst stray ordnance from the attacks briefly crossed into neighbouring Romanian airspace. The strikes caused widespread power outages affecting thousands of residents across the region.
The attack represents the latest escalation in the ongoing four-and-a-half-year conflict, which began with Russia's 2022 invasion and has left Moscow controlling roughly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory. Ukraine has intensified its own deep strikes into Russian territory in recent weeks, including 600 drones targeting Moscow and repeated attacks on Russian logistics infrastructure that have killed at least 16 people. Both nations accuse each other of targeting civilians, and despite Ukrainian pressure through military action to force peace negotiations, diplomatic efforts to end the war remain largely stalled.
- Russian missile strikes on Kyiv kill at least 8 and injure 33; civilian infrastructure including a children's hospital damaged; power outages affect thousands
- Ukraine retaliates with drone strikes deep inside Russia, killing at least 16; both sides escalating whilst diplomatic efforts remain stalled
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Russia and Ukraine have been at war since February 2022, when Russian forces invaded their neighbour. Russia currently controls around a fifth of Ukrainian territory, and fighting has continued despite periodic efforts to broker a ceasefire or peace deal, none of which have succeeded so far.
Kyiv is Ukraine's capital and largest city, and has repeatedly come under Russian missile and drone attack throughout the war, particularly targeting infrastructure such as power supplies and residential buildings. Ukraine has also stepped up its own long-range strikes on targets inside Russia, including the capital Moscow, as part of its effort to pressure Russia into negotiating.
The war has drawn in wider international concern partly because of the risk of it spilling beyond Ukraine's borders, as illustrated by strikes occasionally straying into the airspace of neighbouring countries such as Romania, a member of NATO. Both sides deny deliberately targeting civilians, though each accuses the other of doing so, and the conflict remains one of the deadliest and most closely watched in Europe since the Second World War.