Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv kills eight, injures 45
French President Emmanuel Macron said Russia had deliberately targeted residential areas with some of the 629 missiles and drones during the night.
“This is Russia’s idea of peace. Terror and barbarism,” he said.
The European response heightens the debate about the next steps in the White House to apply pressure on Putin, including economic sanctions and higher tariffs.
The Trump administration applied 50 per cent tariffs on Indian imports to the US on Wednesday, in an attempt to dissuade India from buying Russian oil, but it is yet to decide on similar measures against China, which also buys Russian oil, or broader sanctions against Putin and his government.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the overnight attacks had brought 500 rescue workers and 1,000 police officers onto the streets to engage in rescue efforts.
Among the dead were three children aged 2, 14 and 17, said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv’s city administration. The numbers are expected to rise.
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Russia launched decoy drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, Tkachenko said, hitting at least 20 locations across seven districts. One hundred buildings were damaged, including a central shopping mall, and thousands of windows were shattered.
The Ukrainian Air Force said the overnight barrage consisted of 598 drones and 31 missiles.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked European leaders for their support but called for greater international pressure to ensure Russia agreed to a peace deal.
“The Russians are not choosing to end the war, only new strikes,” he said.
“It is crucial now that the world responds firmly. Russia must stop this war it started and continues. For the spurning of ceasefire and for the constant Russian attempts to weasel out of negotiations, new strong sanctions are needed. Only this can work.
“The Russians understand only strength and pressure. For every strike, Moscow must feel the consequences.”
Smoke billowed from a five-storey residential building in the Darnytskyi district of the Ukrainian capital, which suffered a direct hit.
Amid the destruction, emergency responders searched for survivors and pulled out bodies. Crowds of residents stood nearby, waiting for relatives to be retrieved from the rubble. Among them was a man still waiting for information about his wife and son.
Firefighters carry a victim’s body from a building hit by Russian strikes.Credit: AP
Bodies in black bags were placed to the side of the building.
Residents said it was not the first time their district was targeted. Oleksandr Khilko arrived at the scene after a missile hit the building where his sister lives. He heard screams from people who were trapped under the rubble and pulled out three survivors, including a boy.
“It’s inhuman, striking civilians,” he said, his clothes covered in dust and the tips of his fingers black with soot. “With every cell of my body I want this war to end as soon as possible. I wait, but every time the air raid alarm sounds, I am afraid.”
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Ukraine’s national railway operator also reported damage to its infrastructure in the Vinnytsia and Kyiv regions, causing delays and requiring trains to use alternative routes.
Meanwhile, Ukraine struck Russia’s Afipsky oil refinery in Krasnodar region and Kuybyshevskyi oil refinery in Samara region overnight, the commander of Ukrainian drone forces said.
Fuel stations have run dry in some regions of Russia following recent Ukrainian attacks on refineries and other oil infrastructure, with motorists waiting in long lines and officials resorting to rationing or cutting off sales altogether.
Russian media outlets reported that fuel shortages are hitting consumers in several regions in the Far East and on the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine 2014.
The attacks came as the recent diplomatic push to end the war appeared to have stalled. Few details have emerged of next steps to follow US President Donald Trump’s recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
‘All deadlines have been broken’
Western leaders have accused Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts and avoiding serious negotiations while Russian troops move deeper into Ukraine. This week, Ukrainian military leaders conceded Russian forces have broken into an eighth region, seeking to capture more ground.
A damaged building in a residential district of Kyiv.Credit: AP
Trump said last Friday that he expected to decide on next steps in two weeks if direct talks between Putin and Zelensky were not scheduled.
With AP