Russia conducted a significant drone and missile assault on Ukraine early Friday, resulting in the deaths of six individuals in Kyiv and two more in the southern region due to strikes on energy facilities, residential buildings, and infrastructure, as reported by Ukrainian officials.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed that the Russian forces deployed 430 drones and 18 missiles in what is considered one of the most extensive attacks on the capital city to date. Zelenskyy stated that Kyiv was retaliating with long-range strikes and appealed for increased sanctions on Russia by its allies.
While the air force managed to intercept most of the incoming drones and missiles, debris and fires caused damage to high-rise apartments, a school, a medical facility, and administrative buildings in nine districts of Kyiv, a city with a population of approximately three million.
According to Timur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, at least 34 people, including two children, were wounded in the city, with nine individuals receiving medical treatment, including a pregnant woman. The energy ministry announced partial power outages in central Kyiv, the southern Odesa region, and the eastern Donetsk region.
Residents described scenes of panic as flames engulfed various locations in the city, forcing people to seek safety amidst the rubble-strewn streets following the attacks. Anastasia, 29, recounted the chaos when her apartment building was hit, emphasizing the dilemma of choosing between self-preservation, aiding others, and rescuing her child amid the chaos.
In an unfortunate incident, the Azerbaijani Embassy in Kyiv was hit by debris from an Iskander missile, prompting Azerbaijan to summon the Russian ambassador in protest. The embassy’s perimeter wall was partially destroyed, causing significant damage to the diplomatic premises without any reported injuries.
Furthermore, Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk temporarily halted oil exports, equivalent to 2.2 million barrels per day, after a Ukrainian drone attack, resulting in damage to a docked ship, residential structures, and an oil storage depot. This attack, a severe blow to Russian oil-exporting infrastructure, occurred amidst heightened tensions following Ukraine’s increased strikes on Russian oil refineries in an effort to weaken Moscow’s financial capabilities for sustaining the ongoing conflict.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium experienced a temporary suspension of oil loadings, while the Sheskharis terminal bore the brunt of the Ukrainian assault, causing disruptions to oil berths. Despite the chaos, local officials managed to extinguish a fire at an oil depot within the terminal.
Reports indicated that the Sierra Leone-flagged Arlan oil tanker was also impacted during the assault, with three crew members sustaining injuries and receiving medical treatment in Novorossiysk. Governor Veniamin Kondratyev confirmed the swift response by deploying personnel and equipment to manage the aftermath, including firefighting and aid efforts for affected residents.
President Zelenskyy disclosed the use of Ukrainian “Long Neptune” cruise missiles on Russian targets overnight, highlighting the increasing success of such strikes, which have a range of 1,000 km. Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed to have intercepted 216 Ukrainian drones in various Russian regions and Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
