Russia pummelled Kiev for hours early on Thursday with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles in an attack that killed at least five people and further shredded hopes of a halt to Moscow’s grinding war.
AFP journalists in the capital heard air raid sirens wailing out over the city before several hours of thunderous explosions and flashes in the sky sent Kiev residents running to shelter in metro stations.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 675 attack drones and 56 missiles, mainly at Kiev, adding its air defence units had downed 652 of the drones and 41 missiles.
“Everything was burning. People were screaming… people were shouting,” Andriy, a Kiev resident still wearing a nightgown and with blood stains on his shirt, told AFP near a collapsed Soviet-era residential building.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced five people were killed and around 40 were wounded in the capital, where he said residential buildings, a school, a vet clinic and other civilian infrastructure was damaged.
“These are definitely not the actions of those who believe the war is coming to an end. It is important that partners do not remain silent about this strike,” he added.
Zelenskyy praised his air defence units for downing 93 percent of the projectiles but said the ratio needed to be higher and conceded: “the most difficult challenge is defending against ballistic missiles.”
Russia, which sent troops into Ukraine more than four years ago, said in a statement that its strikes were retaliatory in nature and that its wave of missiles and drones had targeted military-linked sites and energy facilities that support the Ukrainian army.
Chaotic rescue scenes
At daybreak, AFP journalists witnessed chaotic scenes as rescue workers dug through mounds of debris from a collapsed residential building gutted in the attack.
Emergency service workers were seen hauling from the site those wounded and killed in the strikes, and residents were seen crying while waiting for news of loved ones and neighbours.
The barrage is the latest major setback for efforts to end the conflict after US President Donald Trump raised faint hopes for peace by brokering a three-day ceasefire between Kiev and Moscow last week, and Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin suggested the war could be winding down.
That ceasefire, put in place as Putin presided over a scaled-down military parade in Red Square to mark the anniversary of victory in World War II, was marred by allegations of violations by both sides.
And both Ukraine and Russia launched long-range drone attacks immediately after it ended on Tuesday.
