Three people were killed and three others were injured in an attack on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Saturday, according to officials, in a move Russia said was in retaliation for Ukraine using US-made ATACMS missiles.
The deaths and injuries occurred in the city’s central Shevchenkivskyi district, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X that residential buildings, a metro station, businesses, and other civilian infrastructure were damaged in the strike.
“All those who help the Russian state in this war must be under such pressure that it is no less noticeable than these strikes,” Zelensky said. “We can do this only in unity with the entire world.”
Kyiv has regularly been targeted in the conflict but deadly attacks are rare. The attack comes as the war reaches a critical point, with both sides seeking to gain an advantage ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration for a second term as US president.
The attack on Kyiv was carried out in response to Ukrainian forces using US-made ATACMS missiles in Russia’s Belgorod region, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The strike targeted “facilities of the Ukrainian military-industrial sector,” the defense ministry wrote, adding that “the targets of the strike were achieved and all objects were hit.”
A total of 39 drones and four missiles were launched by Russia into Ukraine from Friday evening to Saturday morning, Ukraine’s Air Force Command wrote on Telegram.
Also on Saturday, ten people were injured following missile strikes in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia with two more reported missing, a Telegram post by Ivan Fedorov, head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, said.
Two of the injured were treated on the spot while the others have been hospitalized. A 48-year-old woman is in serious condition, Fedorov added.