In the second Russian missile attack on the capital of Ukraine - Kiev this week, at least 53 people were injured, while homes and a children's hospital were damaged, Ukrainian officials announced today, while President Volodymyr Zelensky begged in Washington for additional help to his country, reports the agency. Reuters.
The windows of the apartment blocks were blown out, and frightened residents came out into the street to assess the damage.
Missile debris made a large crater in the ground and destroyed parked cars.
Ukrainian air defense systems shot down all ten ballistic missiles aimed at the capital around three in the morning, the Ukrainian Air Force announced on the Telegram application.
Falling debris caused injuries and destruction in four Kyiv districts along the Dnieper River, which runs through the capital, officials said.
35 buildings were damaged, the city's military administration announced.
Ukrainian National Police said 53 people, including six children, were injured in the attack.
18 people were hospitalized, according to a post on social networks.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine identified the missiles as Iskander-M ballistic missiles, as well as S-400s: high-speed missiles intended for air defense but also used to target land targets.
Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president's chief of staff, praised the Western-supplied air defense systems and their operators after Ukraine shot down all ten.
"The effectiveness of Western weapons in the hands of Ukrainian soldiers cannot be doubted," Jermak said on the Telegram messaging app.
Windows and entrances were broken by debris at a children's hospital in Kyiv's Dnipro district, but according to initial estimates there were no casualties, Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said on Telegram.
Debris also hit several residential buildings in Dnipro district.
The water supply in the district was damaged.
The head of Kyiv's military administration, Sergei Popko, said 17 people, including seven children, were evacuated from an apartment building in Dnipro district after debris hit the building and nearby cars, causing a fire.
He added that most of the injuries came from windows that were blown out by the wave of explosions.
"There are many injured," Popko said.
The attack followed a barrage of ballistic missiles aimed at Kiev early Monday that injured four people.
American President Joseph Biden warned Republicans yesterday that they will give Russia a "Christmas present" if they do not provide additional military aid to Zelenskiy, whose meeting with top American lawmakers ended without a commitment to more support.
There was no comment from Russia about today's attack, which also damaged buildings in Kiev's Desnyansky, Darnitsky and Holosiyevsky districts.
Both Moscow and Kiev deny targeting civilians in the nearly 22-month war that Russia launched against its neighbor in February 2022.
The air force said it also shot down all ten Russian attack drones over Odesa region in southern Ukraine.
Bonus video:
