UPDATE: At least 25 dead in one of the worst Russian bombings against kyiv: “This is a terrorist attack” | International
Global Update:
The following report highlights an important international development currently attracting worldwide attention.
During a new hellish night in kyiv, at least 23 people have died in the Ukrainian capital after the attack launched by Russia in the early hours of this Thursday. It is one of the worst that the city has suffered in more than four years of Russian invasion of the country, as confirmed by the emergency services. The injured number in the dozens and there are a hundred buildings and infrastructure destroyed or damaged. The bombardment, which lasted hours, unleashed 74 missiles, around twenty of them ballistic, and 496 drones on different regions of the country, according to the Air Force. In one residential building in the Darnytsia neighborhood alone, one of the missiles destroyed 64 apartments and killed several of its neighbors. After noon, more than twelve hours after the first launches, alerts continued to sound regarding the arrival of new projectiles over kyiv, where some three million people live. Few were surprised by the magnitude of the attack. The president, Volodymyr Zelensky, announced late on Wednesday, from Dublin – where he was participating in the opening events of the Irish six-month presidency of the EU – that the night was going to be tough. Shortly after, the information that the Ukrainian secret services had collected was confirmed: the Russians were preparing everything to punish the capital, 17 days after the last attack, which took place on June 15. Before dawn on Thursday, the subway stations and the basements of the buildings had been filled with people seeking refuge, shortly before the sky began to shake. Through social networks, alerts announced the launch of projectiles, drones or missiles from different points. The authorities asked residents to go to safe areas. Anti-aircraft defenses were working to try to minimize the damage, but 100% effectiveness in shooting down projectiles is almost impossible. A resident remains next to a crater caused by the impact of a projectile after a Russian night attack on kyiv, this Thursday.Valentyn Ogirenko (REUTERS) Rescue teams evacuate a woman found under the rubble of an apartment building hit by Russian missiles in kyiv, this Thursday. Valentyn Ogirenko (REUTERS)Rescue teams work in an apartment building hit by a Russian missile, this Thursday in Kiev.Valentyn Ogirenko (REUTERS)A mother caresses the head of her son, killed during a Russian attack in kyiv this Thursday. Stringer (REUTERS)A rescue group takes a break after the Russian attacks on kyiv, this Thursday. Alina Smutko (REUTERS) Health personnel evacuate an elderly woman after the Russian attacks on kyiv, this Thursday. Alina Smutko (REUTERS)Damage caused to a residential building after a Russian attack on kyiv, this Thursday. Associated Press/LaPresse (APN)Members of the Ukrainian Red Cross evacuate an injured resident from a collapsed residential building after an attack with drones and Russian missiles, this Thursday in Kiev.Paula Bronstein (Getty Images)A column of smoke rises over the center of kyiv after the Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital, this Thursday.Efrem Lukatsky (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)Liudmyla Tsapkova remains seated in his apartment damaged after a Russian attack in kyiv, this Thursday. Danylo Antoniuk (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)A woman watches an apartment building on fire after a Russian attack, this Thursday in kyiv. Danylo Antoniuk (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)A woman walks past an apartment building on fire after a Russian missile attack on kyiv on Thursday. Danylo Antoniuk (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)Firefighters put out the flames of a vehicle after a Russian attack on kyiv, this Thursday. Stringer (REUTERS)Zelenski cut the trip short and immediately returned from Ireland while asking the population to take cover. During the visit to one of the affected areas, he did not hide some frustration at the lack of means to be able to stand up to attacks like the one kyiv had just suffered. “If our partners had fulfilled their promises on time, I believe that today we could have saved more homes and lives,” he defended. “The only thing we ask of our partners is, simply, that they comply with what we have agreed. We don’t even ask them for more,” he added in statements to the media. The president demands from the allies, above all, air defenses and, especially, against ballistic missiles, “an absolute and critical priority,” he wrote on his social networks. In this sense, Zelensky has requested more bilateral agreements with collaborating partners so that the local army can withstand Russian pressure with weapons such as the American Patriots. The Russian Defense Ministry stated this Thursday that the attack consisted of several rounds of drones and missiles against “military and energy facilities around kyiv, as well as military airports in several regions, including Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk.” And he has claimed it as retaliation for Ukraine’s bombings against Russian civilian infrastructure in recent days. kyiv, however, has not clarified whether Russia has managed to damage military facilities. Earlier in the day, military authorities in kyiv announced the attack on a Russian refinery in Kstovo, about 400 kilometers east of Moscow. This bombing is part of a strategy designed a year ago by Ukraine to, in response to the Kremlin’s offensive, try to damage Russian energy infrastructure. At dawn in kyiv, and still well into the morning, columns of smoke rose into the sky from different neighborhoods. In addition to numerous residential blocks, the attack hit a hotel, an institute, a medical center or a market. The number of victims has been rising to 25 since, early in the morning, the Minister of the Interior, Ihor Klimenko, confirmed to EL PAÍS, in one of the places attacked, that the death toll rose to 13. A bus circulates while smoke rises after Russian attacks in kyiv, this Thursday. Alina Smutko (REUTERS) Klimenko closely followed the work of the rescue teams, equipped with heavy machinery (cranes, excavators and trucks) and who were removing the rubble of a heavily damaged ten-story residential building in the Darnytsia district, on the left bank of the Dnieper River. Until then, they had only managed to recover one body in that place, but six or seven missing people were being searched among the rubble, the head of the Interior explained on the spot. The remains of the building were still smoking, as were the affected cars. Witnessing the bombing, a children’s playground remained covered in dust, tree debris and rubble. The firefighters ascended to the upper floors, from where in risky maneuvers they helped the cranes remove beams and parts of the building to try to access where, supposedly, the people they were looking for were located. “This is simply a terrorist attack,” denounced Klimenko, from whom two strong bodyguards did not detach themselves. “Moscow continues to destroy our homes, buildings, cities, factories and energy infrastructure,” he added. He had a plea for the European Union: “We must stop this war, stop these attacks that take place every day and every night, offer security to our citizens. They must stop [el presidente ruso, Vladímir] Putin. We lack missiles in our army. We need protection and support from our international allies.” Aerial view of homes destroyed by Russian attacks in kyiv, this Thursday. Valentyn Ogirenko (REUTERS) A few meters away, the head of the rescuers, Konstantin Silaiev, watched his men, some visibly exhausted and wrapped in clouds of dust, as they tried to clear debris to extract, alive or dead, the missing. Some firefighters climbed the facades with ladders to check if there were any people left. the apartments.The mayor of the capital, Vitali Klichkó, decreed a day of mourning on Thursday and asked that all flags, those of official institutions and those placed in private places, be flown at half-mast. The mayor suspended public activities. Target, Crimea Despite everything, Zelensky took advantage of the day of mourning to take advantage of the offensive that his troops are deploying, essentially with drones, on the occupied Crimean peninsula. Next to the remains of one of the buildings. bombed, the president pointed out that the successes they are achieving in that territory complicate Putin’s role as leader of the invasion, which leads him to increase his attacks against civilians. Zelensky considers, however, that what would lead the head of the Kremlin to stop the war is not so much what happens in Crimea but in Moscow, implying that kyiv will also maintain its offensive against the Russian capital. In any case, the Ukrainian president continues to keep the door open to a face-to-face meeting with his Russian counterpart, something that he rejected in early June. “We are open, we are ready to meet. “He is physically afraid of meeting,” he said before a group of reporters. The diplomatic representations in the Ukrainian capital have condemned the attacks, including those of the European Union, the United States and Spain. “Attacks against civilians are war crimes,” said the Spanish ambassador, Ricardo López-Aranda after going to the site of the impact in Darnytsia. On the 11th, the great Russian invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022, surpassed the First World War in days by reaching the 1,569. The number of victims also breaks a record among modern conflicts, which, between deaths and injuries on both sides, goes beyond two million, according to a report published this Wednesday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) of the United States. Behind a police tape, neighbors in Darnytsia observed the scene of the disaster. Ania Voitenko, 19, waited with her father, Anatoli, for the authorities to allow them to pass and check the condition of the victims. When the alarms went off, they went to the basement of a nearby building, better equipped than theirs. “We were down there when, around 4:00, the big explosion came. Between four and five in the morning many explosions were heard. We have been very scared,” said the young woman. “We don’t know what to do with our lives,” she concluded, with her eyes about to burst into tears.
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Source: This article was originally published by Internacional en EL PAÍS and adapted for our international English-speaking audience.
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