Kyiv [Ukraine], August 20 – At least five people were killed and 23 others injured after Russia launched a major overnight missile attack on Kyiv and surrounding areas, Ukrainian officials said Thursday.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said apartment buildings and warehouses were targetted. Rescue teams were deployed to search damaged structures for people trapped under rubble with one person rescued alive.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a children’s hospital was also damaged with windows shattered and several vehicles catching fire nearby. A missile also struck an industrial facility in Kyiv’s southwestern Solomianskyi district.
In the Kyiv region’s Brovary district one man was killed and another injured regional governor Tymur Tkachenko said.
The overnight attacks also disrupted electricity supplies to thousands of homes and other buildings across the Kyiv region. Repair crews were sent to damaged energy infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Romania said a drone entered its airspace from the direction of Ukraine’s northern border. The Romanian Defence Ministry said the drone entered Romanian airspace about 13 km east of the city of Galati before crashing in an uninhabited area. It caused a small fire but no casualties or material damage.
Poland’s military also said it had launched defensive air operations to protect its airspace as the Russian strikes continued.
