Current:Home > InvestRussia attacks Ukraine's capital with missiles after Putin's threat to "respond in kind" to strikes in Russia-LoTradeCoin
Russia attacks Ukraine's capital with missiles after Putin's threat to "respond in kind" to strikes in Russia
View Date:2024-12-24 00:16:06
Kyiv, Ukraine — Russia fired 31 ballistic and cruise missiles at Kyiv before dawn Thursday in the first attack on the Ukrainian capital in six weeks, officials said. Air defenses shot down all the incoming missiles, though 13 people including a child were injured by falling wreckage, they said.
Residents of Kyiv were woken up by loud explosions around 5 a.m. as the missiles arrived at roughly the same time from different directions, said Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Administration.
Ukraine's air force said Russia launched two ballistic missiles and 29 cruise missiles against the capital.
Kyiv has better air defenses than most regions of the large country. The missile interception rate is frequently high, rendering Russian attacks on the capital significantly less successful than during the early days of the war. Even so, Ukrainian officials warn that they need considerably more Western weapons if they are to prevail against Russia's invasion.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had threatened Wednesday to "respond in kind" to Ukrainian aerial attacks in recent days on Russia's Belgorod region near the border with Ukraine.
At an event in the Kremlin, Putin said Russia "can respond in the same way regarding civilian infrastructure and all other objects of this kind that the enemy attacks. We have our own views on this matter and our own plans. We will follow what we have outlined."
An 11-year-old girl and a 38-year-old man were hospitalized in Kyiv, the city administration said. Eight other people sustained light injuries, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Ukraine's Emergency Service said around 80 people were evacuated from their homes.
Falling wreckage from the intercepted missiles set fire to at least one apartment building, burned parked cars and left craters in streets and a small park. Some streets were littered with debris, including glass from shattered windows.
Survivors, some of them in tears and visibly shaken as emergency workers treated them in the street, recounted narrow escapes.
Raisa Kozenko, a 71-year-old whose apartment lost its doors and windows in the blast, said her son jumped out of bed just in time.
"He was covered in blood, in the rubble," she said, trembling from shock. "And all I can say is ... the apartment is completely destroyed."
Mariia Margulis, 31, said a decision to stay in the corridor throughout the attack saved her family.
"The blast wave blew out all the windows on the side where everything happened," she said. "My mom was supposed to sleep in that room, but I asked her to move to the corridor in time, which saved us."
On Thursday, five people were injured in the latest attack on the Belgorod region, which damaged homes and the city sports stadium, Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
Russia's Ministry of Defense said it stopped 10 rockets over the region.
The attack on Kyiv occurred hours after a visit to Kyiv by President Joe Biden's top foreign policy adviser, Jake Sullivan.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the country's Western partners to send more air defense systems so they can be distributed across the country where missile strikes have become more common.
"Every day, every night such ... terror happens," he said on Telegram after Thursday's attack on Kyiv. "World unity is capable to stop it by helping us with more air defense systems."
Zelenskyy said Russia doesn't have missiles that can evade U.S.-made Patriots and other advanced air defense weapons. His government has also pleaded openly with U.S. lawmakers to approve an additional aid package for Ukraine that has been held up for months by partisan wrangling in Washington.
As CBS News correspondent Charlie D'Agata reported from the front lines in late February, Russia's invading forces have been taking advantage of Ukraine's dire weapons and equipment shortages to seize ground this year. D'Agata also spoke with a top U.S. Army official who warned that, without new funding for Ukraine's war effort, the American military's own operations across Europe and Africa were at financial risk.
European Union leaders were considering new ways to help boost arms and ammunition production for Ukraine at a summit in Brussels on Thursday.
Russia has largely turned its attention to other Ukrainian cities, targeting them with drones and ballistic missiles.
On Wednesday, Russian ballistic missiles killed five people and injured nine in the eastern Kharkiv region, and strike on southern Odesa last week killed 21.
- In:
- War
- Ukraine
- Russia
- Vladimir Putin
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy
- Kyiv
veryGood! (193)
Related
- Mike Tyson has lived a wild life. These 10 big moments have defined his career
- After three decades, a skeleton found in a Wisconsin chimney has been identified
- California’s scenic Highway 1 to Big Sur opens to around-the-clock travel as slide repair advances
- Spain claims its biggest-ever seizure of crystal meth, says Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel was trying to sell drugs in Europe
- Voters in California city reject measure allowing noncitizens to vote in local races
- Is Xandra Pohl Dating Kansas City Chiefs' Louis Rees-Zamm? She Says…
- Kendall Jenner Spotted at Ex Bad Bunny's Concert Following Met Gala After-Party Reunion
- Scheffler looks to the weekend after a long, strange day at the PGA Championship
- Florida education officials report hundreds of books pulled from school libraries
- One person not frequently seen at Trump's trial: Alvin Bragg, the D.A. who brought the case
Ranking
- Federal judge denies request to block measure revoking Arkansas casino license
- Spain claims its biggest-ever seizure of crystal meth, says Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel was trying to sell drugs in Europe
- Brazil to host 2027 Women's World Cup, wins FIFA vote after USA-Mexico joint bid withdrawn
- NHL Stanley Cup playoffs 2024: Scores, schedule, times, TV for conference finals games
- Why Jersey Shore's Jenni JWoww Farley May Not Marry Her Fiancé Zack Clayton
- NFL player Harrison Butker is correct about motherhood. He's wrong about our choices.
- Pregnant Hailey Bieber and Justin Bieber Are Happier Than Ever During Billie Eilish Date Night
- Sen. Bob Menendez's corruption trial continues with more FBI testimony about search of home
Recommendation
-
Bodyless head washes ashore on a South Florida beach
-
There's a surprising reason why many schools don't have a single Black teacher
-
Judge dismisses lawsuit by Georgia court candidate who sued to keep talking about abortion
-
Michigan lawmakers get final revenue estimates as they push to finalize the state budget
-
New 'Yellowstone' is here: Season 5 Part 2 premiere date, time, where to watch
-
What the 'Young Sheldon' finale means: From Jim Parsons' Sheldon return to the last moment
-
Is Xandra Pohl Dating Kansas City Chiefs' Louis Rees-Zamm? She Says…
-
College awards popular campus cat with honorary doctor of litter-ature degree