Russia unleashes devastating aerial assault on Ukraine, kills dozens
In a shocking escalation of hostilities, Russia launched a barrage of drone and missile strikes across Ukraine on Friday, resulting in a grim toll of at least 12 lives lost and over 70 people wounded.
President Volodymyr Zelensky described the onslaught as Russia employing nearly every weapon in its arsenal, marking one of the largest air attacks witnessed in the ongoing conflict.
The Ukrainian military reported that a staggering 158 missiles and drones targeted various locations within Ukraine, with 114 of them successfully intercepted and destroyed by the country’s air defenses.
The relentless assault aimed to overwhelm Ukraine’s defenses, hitting major cities with a combination of Shahed attack drones and a variety of missiles launched from both aircraft and Russian-controlled territory.
Amid the devastating strikes, buildings in six cities, including warehouses, a shopping mall, and even a maternity hospital, sustained significant damage.
In Kyiv, powerful explosions rocked the city in the early hours, causing a warehouse in the northern Podil district to catch fire, leaving 10 people trapped under the rubble.
The capital’s Lukyanivska metro station, serving as an air raid shelter, also faced damage, and casualties were reported as several residential and warehouse buildings bore the brunt of the attacks.
The strikes targeted at least six Ukrainian cities, including Kharkiv, Lviv, Dnipro, and Odesa. In Dnipro, a maternity hospital was severely damaged, though staff and patients managed to find shelter in time.
Tragedy struck with five people killed and over 20 injured in the city, as a shopping mall also succumbed to the flames.
In Lviv, high-rise blocks of flats and two schools faced damage, resulting in one fatality and 15 injuries. The eastern city of Kharkiv encountered approximately 20 strikes, leading to one death and 11 injuries. Odesa in the south reported two casualties, while Zaporizhzhia on the Dnipro River witnessed strikes on industrial and residential areas, causing one fatality and numerous injuries.
Denouncing the wave of Russian attacks, the UN’s humanitarian envoy for Ukraine, Denise Brown, declared the situation as another year of “enormous suffering” for the Ukrainian people.
Ukraine’s presidential aide, Andriy Yermak, urgently appealed for increased international support, emphasizing the need for strength to counter the ongoing terror faced by civilians.
As uncertainty surrounds further aid, President Zelensky expressed gratitude to the United States for releasing the last remaining package of weapons under existing authorizations on Thursday.
Zelensky warned that any shift in U.S. policy, as Kyiv’s primary supporter, could significantly impact the trajectory of the conflict.
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