At least four people have been killed and several others injured in Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine, local officials said, as Kiev’s allies push for drastic measures against Russia as the war approaches its fourth anniversary.
Two people were killed in a ballistic missile attack on Ukraine’s capital Kiev, and nine others were injured in an overnight attack, Timur Tkachenko, head of the city’s military administration, announced on Saturday.
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Ukraine’s National Emergency Services Agency said the attack resulted in a fire in a non-residential building in one location, and in another, debris from the intercepted missile fell into an open field and damaged windows in a nearby building.
“There has been an explosion in the capital. The city is under ballistic attack,” Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a social media post.
Two people were killed and seven others were injured in a Russian attack in the central eastern region of Dnipropetrovsk, acting governor Vladislav Khayvanenko announced. He added that apartment buildings, private homes, outbuildings, shops and at least one vehicle were damaged in the strike.
One of the victims was an emergency worker, the Interior Ministry said. “One rescue worker was killed and another was injured as a result of repeated missile attacks on the Petropavlivska district in the Dnipropetrovsk region,” the ministry said on social media.
The Ukrainian Air Force announced that Russia launched nine Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 62 attack drones. It added that four ballistic missiles and 50 unmanned aircraft were shot down.
There was no immediate comment from Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022.
Meanwhile, Russia on Saturday accused Ukraine of destroying a dam on a local reservoir. In a statement to Telegram, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said repeated dam attacks had increased the risk of flooding and advised residents of Shebekino and Bezlyudovka to leave their homes for temporary accommodation.
Belgorod Oblast borders Kharkiv Oblast in eastern Ukraine and has been attacked by the Ukrainian military in the past.
Overall, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that Russian air defense forces shot down 121 Ukrainian drones over Russian skies overnight.
pressure Putin to end the war
The attack comes as Kiev’s Western allies ramp up pressure on Russia as the war enters its fourth winter.
The United States and the European Union this week announced comprehensive new sanctions on Russian energy aimed at crippled Russia’s war economy.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil in a bid to pressure Russia towards a ceasefire. The European Union on Thursday adopted new sanctions on Russian energy exports and banned imports of liquefied natural gas.
On Friday, at a joint press conference in London after a so-called “coalition of the willing” meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed the sanctions and called for additional pressure on all Russian oil companies and military aid to strengthen Ukraine’s long-range missile capabilities.
On Saturday, President Zelenskiy said the nighttime attack had increased the need for his country’s air defense systems. “It is precisely because of attacks like this that we are paying special attention to Patriot’s systems to protect our cities from this horror. It is important that our partners with the relevant capabilities implement what we have discussed in recent days,” he wrote on social media.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will not bow to pressure from Western countries. “No self-respecting country or self-respecting people will ever make a decision under pressure,” he said, calling the U.S. sanctions an “unfriendly act.”
President Putin called for Ukraine to completely disarm and for Russia to retain territory it captured during the war. For Ukraine, that position appears to be non-negotiable. Before returning to the White House in January, Trump boasted that he could end the war within 24 hours if re-elected, but no progress has been made between the two positions.
Plans for a direct meeting between Trump and Putin fell apart this week after the US president proposed “freezing” the war with a ceasefire along the current front lines.
Despite continuing disagreements, President Putin’s special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, Kirill Dmitriev, said on Friday that he believed a diplomatic solution was close.
