Heavy Russian strikes on Kyiv kill one, wound 31

KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Large-scale Russian strikes on Kyiv killed one person and wounded at least 31 others, city authorities said on Thursday, as Moscow ramped up attacks on Ukraine following a short-lived ceasefire.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists in the capital heard air raid sirens wailing before a series of loud explosions that lasted throughout the night, spurring residents of the capital to seek shelter in metro stations.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had launched more than 670 attack drones and 56 missiles in the attack that homed in on targets mainly in Kyiv. 

“These are definitely not the actions of those who believe the war is coming to an end. It is important that partners do not remain silent about this strike,” he wrote on social media, warning that more people could be trapped under the rubble at strike sites.

The Ukrainian leader added that more than 20 locations in Kyiv had been damaged, including residential buildings, a school, a vet and other civilian infrastructure.

Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, said one person was killed and 16 others were wounded in the barrage on the city.

Ukraine’s state emergency service later reported 31 people, including a child, had been wounded in strikes across the Kyiv region.

Military authorities said the strikes hit six districts of the capital and six more in the surrounding region.

At daybreak, AFP journalists saw rescue workers searching for survivors in the rubble of destroyed buildings in Kyiv.

Rescuers were seen hauling a wounded person from a partially collapsed residential building.

Ukraine’s emergency service said those search and rescue operations were ongoing.

Strikes from both Moscow and Kyiv resumed after Russia ended a three-day ceasefire with Ukraine on Tuesday.

United States President Donald Trump had announced the pause last week, hours before Russian leader Vladimir Putin presided over a scaled-down military parade in Red Square to mark the anniversary of victory in World War II.

Zelensky has urged Trump to discuss ending the conflict during his meetings this week with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.