KYIV – A Russian ballistic missile attack on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv early Friday killed at least one person and wounded 12 other people, officials said. Moscow claimed it was in response to a Ukrainian strike on Russian soil using American-made weapons.
At least three loud blasts were heard in Kyiv shortly before sunrise. Ukraine’s air force said that it intercepted five Iskander short-range ballistic missiles fired at the city. The attack knocked out heating to 630 residential buildings, 16 medical facilities and 30 schools and kindergartens, the city administration said. Falling missile debris caused damage and sparked fires in three districts.
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“We ask citizens to immediately respond to reports of ballistic attack threats, because there is very little time to find shelter,” the air force said.
During the almost three years since the war began, Russia has regularly bombarded civilian areas of Ukraine, often in an attempt to cripple the power grid and unnerve Ukrainians. Ukraine, struggling to hold back Russia's bigger army on the front line, has attempted to strike Russian infrastructure supporting the country’s war effort.
The falling debris in Kyiv smashed into the city center, causing damage to around two dozen high-rise office buildings as well as the Catholic Church of St. Nicholas, which is a city landmark, and the Kyiv National Linguistic University.
What may have been the blast wave from an intercepted low-flying missile also blew out windows or caused other damage at six embassies, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.
About five hours later, air raid sirens rang out again. Valeriia Dubova, a 32-year-old photographer, took cover with many others in a crowded subway station.
She said that in the morning attack, she sheltered at home and could feel the walls shaking from the blasts. Outside, fire engines and ambulances raced down city streets, she said.
“With the naked eye you could see that many buildings, high-rises, were damaged, with glass shards on the ground, far from the explosion epicenter,” she said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that the strike was in response to a Ukrainian missile attack on Russia's Rostov border region two days earlier. That attack used six American-made Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, missiles and four Storm Shadow air-launched missiles provided by the United Kingdom, it said.
That day, Ukraine claimed to have targeted a Rostov oil refinery as part of its campaign to strike Russian infrastructure supporting the country's war effort.
The use of Western-supplied weapons to strike Russia has angered the Kremlin. Ukraine fired several American-supplied longer-range missiles into Russia for the first time on Nov. 19 after Washington eased restrictions on their use.
That development prompted Russia to use a new hypersonic missile, called Oreshnik, for the first time. Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that the missile could be used to target government buildings in Kyiv, though there have been no reports of an Oreshnik being used for a second time.
Answering the Ukrainian attack on Rostov on Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the military carried out a group strike with “high-precision, long-range weapons” on the command center of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency and another location where it said Ukraine’s Neptune missile systems are designed and produced.
The attack also targeted Ukrainian ground-based cruise missile systems and U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
“The objectives of the strike have been achieved. All objects are hit,” the ministry said in a Telegram post.
Its claims couldn't immediately be verified.
In other Russian attacks on civilian areas of Ukraine, six people, including a 15-year-old girl, were ired by missiles in Kryvyi Rih, regional authorities said. It was the second straight night of attacks in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown.
Also, Russian artillery shelled the southern city of Kherson Friday morning, causing widespread damage and leaving around 60,000 people without power, regional Gov. Olesksandr Prokudin said.
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A previous version of this story was corrected to show that Russia said Friday's attack was in response to a Ukrainian strike on Dec. 18, not earlier Friday.
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