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Russian Drone Attacks Kill 2, Wound Over 40 in Kyiv
Confirmed
In Short: A separate Russian aerial bomb attack killed at least four people and injured four others in a village in the front-line Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, the regional governor said.
Russian drones and missiles hit Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities on Thursday, killing two and injuring over 40, according to Ukrainian officials.
The overnight barrage included Oniks anti-ship cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, four cruise missiles, and nearly 160 drones, Ukraine's air force said.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a Russian drone hit a nine-storey non-residential building, a business center, and warehouses in the capital.
The attacks came just hours after the US House of Representatives passed a major sanctions bill targeting Moscow.
Zelenskyy said Russia had also hit energy infrastructure in the Sumy and Odesa regions, and that Ukraine had struck a Russian oil refinery in Yaroslavl, northeast of Moscow.
Emergency services and other authorities continued working to eliminate the consequences of the attacks, which hit a range of civilian and critical infrastructure in Kyiv.
Sirens sounded in eastern Poland and two Polish airports temporarily suspended flights after Russia launched its attack in western Ukraine, close to the Polish border.
Zelenskyy said it was symbolic that the US House of Representatives passed the sanctions bill on the night of yet another Russian attack on Ukraine.
The chief executive of the Ukrainian railway operator, Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, said railway infrastructure in the capital was also attacked and that one of its workers was injured.
He asked for increased supplies of US Patriot air defense missiles to defend the country against an expected increase in Russian attacks on energy infrastructure during winter.
What this adds
Trump pressed Zelenskyy on Sunday to halt Kyiv’s strikes on Russian refineries over concerns that the attacks are exacerbating a global diesel shortage and pushing up prices.
Background
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, saying attacks on the country's energy infrastructure were contributing to a diesel shortage.
A Russian drone attack on a Tanzania-flagged vessel en route to a Ukrainian port killed the vessel's captain and injured three crew members.
What's confirmed
- Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 20 people had been wounded in the capital.
What's still developing
- The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed sweeping sanctions and tariff legislation championed by late Senator Lindsey Graham that is designed to tighten the economic squeeze on Russia over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
- The rare daytime attack on Kyiv was carried out with faster and high-flying jet drones that are harder to intercept and lasted for hours from the morning into early afternoon on Wednesday, killing two and injuring more than 30 others, according to local officials.
- Zelenskyy said Russia had deployed many drones against the city, with a large number of them jet-powered.
- A separate Russian aerial bomb attack killed at least four people and injured four others in a village in the front-line Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, the regional governor said on Telegram.
- On Monday, the Financial Times newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the call, that Trump pressed Zelenskyy on Sunday to halt Kyiv’s strikes on Russian refineries over concerns that the attacks are exacerbating a global diesel shortage and pushing up prices.
- Still on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters before a meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that there were no grounds for peace talks with Ukraine.
- “For now, there are no prerequisites for moving onto a peaceful negotiating track, although we, as the Russian side, remain open to peace talks,” Peskov said.
- Ukraine has previously said going to Moscow for any talks was unacceptable and that any talks must be held in a neutral country.
- Ukraine’s Zelenskyy met Trump on Tuesday and discussed a potential bilateral ceasefire on energy-related targets.
- At least two people have been killed in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, along with four others in the front-line Donetsk region, as Russia pounds the country just hours after US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed peace efforts.
- As Defense Express previously reported, Ukraine could launch domestic production of missiles for Patriot air defense systems within approximately one to one and a half years, following U.S. support for the necessary licensing.
- In brief: Kyiv came under a Russian drone attack Wednesday morning, with at least five explosions reported near the Central Railway Station area.